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THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



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THE STORY OF 
HARECOURT 



ftrino, thz ISjbtarg of an Ettlifpttttent Ckttrch 



By JOHN B. MARSH 

:e reference shakspere,"^"wise sayings 
and good," " robin hood and his merry companions : 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION 

By the REV. ALEXANDER RALEIGH, d.d. 




STRAHAN & CO., PUBLISHERS 
56 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON 
1871 



LONDON : 
PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO. 
CITY ROAD. 



5&So 



'o 



TO THE 

REV. ALEXANDER RALEIGH, D.D. 

PASTOR 



THOMAS BAMFORD, JOSEPH CRANE, JOHN FINCH, 
SAMUEL MORLEY, M.P., JAMES SPICER, 
HENRY SPICER, WILLIAM R. SPICER, 
AND JOHN W. WILLIAMS, ESQS. 
TRUSTEES 

JAMES R. BENNETT, M.D., ALFRED A. DIXEY, 
FREDERICK FITCH, ROBERT FORSAITH, 
ROBERT R. GLOVER, MICHAEL MURPHY, 
JOHN SHAW,..WILLIAM G. SPICER, 
AND WILLIAM H. WARTON, ESQS. 
DEACONS 

AND THE 

MEMBERS OF HARECOURT INDEPENDENT CHURCH 
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY 



THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



HE Story of Harecourt " is the history 



of an Independent Church, formed in 
1648, by the Rev. George Cokayn, B.A. 
Hitherto very little has been known of him 
and those associated with him ; and, what- 
ever claim to originality this story may 
possess, the credit is due more to the 
facilities now offered for research, than to 
any special skill on my part. To those 
gentlemen who have lightened my labour I 
desire to tender my most sincere thanks ; for 
without their help it would have been 
impossible to have gathered so many new 
facts concerning those of whom I write. To 
Sir Albert Woods, Garter King at Arms, for 




Vlll 



PREFACE. 



the inspection of valuable MSS. under his 
care, and for other assistance, I am deeply 
indebted. The Authorities at the State Paper 
Office aided my research in every way ; and 
Mrs. Green kindly allowed me to examine a 
mass of private notes, relating to State Papers 
during several years not yet calendared. 
At the Tower Colonel Milman supplied 
me with several material points relating to 
Lord Mayor Tichborne, never before now 
made public. Readers at the British Museum 
are always ready to acknowledge with pro- 
found gratitude the inestimable privileges 
which they there enjoy ; and I have to 
express my deep appreciation of the help 
rendered me in more than one department. 
To the Rev. S. W. Kershaw, M.A., librarian 
at Lambeth Palace, I owe a hearty acknow- 
ledgment for his courtesy, on the occasion 
of a visit to examine some valuable MSS. ; 
and I am also under great obligations to Mr. 



PREFACE. 



ix 



W. H. Overall, F.S.A., librarian at the 
Guildhall, for the facility afforded me in 
referring to many curious records under his 
charge. Nor can I omit mentioning the 
excellent library under the care of Mr. 
Charles Richards, at the Bank of England, 
from which I obtained the loan of several 
valuable books. Dr. Williams's library, 
under the care of Mr. Hunter, is too well 
known to Nonconformists to require any 
commendation, but the courtesy of the 
librarian demands ample acknowledgment. 
It has been a source of much pleasure to me, 
in the course of my work, to know that the 
descendants of the great Sir Bulstrode were 
much interested in my work ; and that in one 
particular, I have added a new fact to those 
presented to the world, in the biography 
published by Mr. R. H. Whitelock. 

One of the most important results to which 
my work led, was the discovery of an old 



X 



PREFACE. 



church register, dated 1696, by Mr. James 
Spicer, the only surviving trustee of those, 
by whose foresight the congregation was re- 
moved from Hare Court to Canonbury. This 
book throws a fresh light upon the circum- 
stances attending the death of John Bunyan. 
The good man at whose house he died, 
Mr. John Strudwick, was a deacon at the 
Rev. George Cokayn's church : a man of 
considerable means, and member of one of 
the City companies. 

To the Rev. T. W. Davids, of Colchester, 
Mr. Thomas Whiteing, Sen., and many private 
friends, I am indebted for valuable hints ; 
and to my wife for a large measure of assist- 
ance. 

JOHN B. MARSH. 

London. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Introduction, by Alexander Raleigh, D.D. . . . xix 

CHAPTER I. 

George Cokayn — Cal'amy's Reference to him — His Birth — 
Studies at Cambridge — First Appearance in London — 
His Preface to Dr. Crispe's Sermons — The Free Grace 
Controversy — Appointment to Pancras, Soper Lane — 
Stow's Description of the Church — The Monuments 
—Bequests — Principal Members of the Congregation — 
Principles they professed — Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke 
— Sketch of his Life — Story of Cromwell and Henry 
Ireton — Whitelocke opposes Cromwell — Alderman 
Robert Tichborne — A famous Prayer Meeting — Colonel 
Rowland Wilson — His Wealth — Town Residence — Mary 
Wilson— John Ireton — Samuel Wilson — John Moore — 
Mode of Public Worship I 

CHAPTER II. 

Parliamentary Fast Days — Divine Service at Margaret's, 
Westminster — George Cokayn invited to preach — Scene 
in the Churchyard — The Congregation — Description of 
the Preacher — The Sermon — Plea for Toleration — De- 
mands Liberty of Conscience for the Godly — Thanks of 



Xll CONTENTS. 



the House passed to him — Pride's Purge — Preface to 
the Sermon — Motto of Cokayn's Life : Duty and Christ 
— His Belief in the Millennium — Invited to preach a 
Second Time — Declines the Honour — Execution of 
Charles — Colonel Wilson and Sir B. Whitelocke oppose 
the Trial — Tichborne sits as Judge, and signs the 
Death-Warrant — His subsequent Regret . . .21 

CHAPTER III. 

Death of Lady Whitelocke — Colonel Rowland Wilson dies 
— The Funeral Ceremony — Singular Record of the Event 
— Colonel Wilson's Character — Sir Bulstrode's Testi- 
mony — Mary Wilson's Diary — Conversation with her 
dying Husband — His Last Wishes — Mary's Grief at his 
Death — Her Treatment by her Father-in-law — Her 
Faith and Resignation — The Funeral Sermon — Preface 
by Cokayn — Samuel Wilson buys Gloves in Fleet Street 
— Mary Wilson's Story of her Wooers — Her Mother in 
Holland — She flies from London — Sir Bulstrode follows 
her — She accepts him — Cites Scriptural Reasons — Sur- 
prise of her Friends — The Marriage — Birth of her Son 
Samuel . . • -32 

CHAPTER IV. 

Sir Bulstrode appointed Ambassador to Sweden — He goes 
to Cople — Visits George Cokayn's Father— Meets with 
George — Their Conversation — Sir Bulstrode accepts the 
Mission — Removes his Wife and Family to Samuel Wil- 
son's House — Attends Pancras Church — Service at Wil- 
son's Residence — Farewell Ceremony at Whitehall — 



CONTENTS. 



Xlll 



Cokayn preaches — The Ambassador and his "Wife — Their 
parting Conversation — The Fleet detained in the River 
— Prayers at Pancras for Mary "Whitelocke — The Birth of 
another Son — News sent to Sir Bulstrode — The Swedish 
Ladies learn the English Mode of Kissing — Cromwell 
assumes the Protectorship — Cokayn's Letters to Sir 
Bulstrode '52 



CHAPTER V. 

Sir Bulstrode's Return — Honours conferred upon him — Co- 
kayn brings Sir Bulstrode's Sons from Cople — Mrs. George 
Cokayn — Their Children — Lord Mayor Tichborne — Co- 
kayn's Sermon on Colonel Underwood — Prophetic Charac- 
ter of the Discourse — Declares a Revolution at Hand — 
Fulfilment of his Prophecy — Death of Cromwell — Acces- 
sion of Charles II. — Welcome by the Ministers — Sir John 
Ireton, Sir Robert Tichborne, and Jacob Willett are 
apprehended — Speech of Tichborne on his Trial — Sen- 
tenced to Imprisonment for Life — Ireton and Willett are 
released — Sir Bulstrode purchases his Pardon for 
,£50,000— Retires to Chilton Lodge . . . .72 



CHAPTER VI. 

Passing of the Ministers' Bill— Ejectment of Cokayn — 
Calamy's Statement — Persecution of the Godly — John 
Bunyan in Prison — Cokayn preaches in the City Churches 
— Fanatics — Venner's Insurrection — Public Worship 
restrained — Spies and Informers — Birth of John Nes- 
bitt — Information sworn against Cokayn, October, 1661 
— Second Information in December— Mrs. Tichborne — 



xiv 



CONTENTS. 



Her Husband's Estate divided amongst Courtiers and 
Others — His Removal to the Scilly Isles — Anne Tich- 
"bome sends a Servant to her Husband — Petitions for 
his Return to England — Sir Robert is brought to Dover 
Castle — His Wife shares his Imprisonment— The Prisoner 
is removed to the Tower — Fellow Prisoners — His Death 
in 1682 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 



CHAPTER VII. 

John Ireton — Reference in Pepys' — Ireton in the Tower — 
His Illness — Removed to the Scilly Isles — Release — 
Reported a dangerous Fanatic in 1664 — Judgments ob- 
tained against him by the King — Cokayn's Preaching 
Stations — The Act of Uniformity — Effect produced — 
Informers appointed in Large Towns — Third Information 
against Cokayn in 1662 — Uniformity of Religion secured 
— Sermons from behind Prison Bars — Emptiness of the 
City Churches — A Clerical Mistake at St. Paul's — "Wilson 
undertakes a Voyage — Is apprehended and lodged in 
Deal Castle — Released and proceeds to New England — 
In Custody again in 1665 — Petitions, and is set at 
Liberty . 109 



CHAPTER VIII. 

George Cokayn goes into Bedfordshire — Preaches in his 
Son's House — Fourth Information against him, dated 
Jan., 1664 — The Sermons and the Prayers — Distance of 
Cardington from Bedford — Cokayn and Bunyan — Out- 
break of the Plague — Apprehension of Cokayn — Is 
bailed by two Friends in March, 1664 — Remains in 



CONTENTS, 



XV 



London during the Plague — The new Clergy forsake 
their Congregations — Ejected Ministers return — Cokayn 
preaches to the Nobility — Names of some of his Hearers 
— Fifth Information against him in August — The In- 
former — Sum raised in Aid of the Godly . . .122 

CHAPTER IX. 

Sixth Information against Cokayn in October, 1664 — The 
Five-Mile Act — Agitation in England — Seventh Informa- 
tion against Cokayn in September, 1666 — The Great Fire 
of London — Pancras Church burnt — The old Church- 
yard — John Moore becomes Sheriff of London — Suspen- 
sion of the Conventicle and Five-Mile Acts — Houses 
licensed for Divine "Worship — Sir Bulstrode and Cokayn 
apply for Licences — Three Applications on one Sheet — 
Scene in Chilton Lodge — Cokayn's House in Redcross 
Street — The State Spy-Book — Famous Preachers, Neigh- 
bours of Cokayn — Their System of Worship — A Gap of 
Sixteen Years — Persecution and Executions in Scotland 
— Itinerants and Wanderers 132 

CHAPTER X. 

The Harecourt Church Register for 1696— Members of 
the Church — The First Deacons, John Strudwick and 
Robert Andrews — Particulars respecting Strudwick — 
Portrait of George Cokayn — When presented — Com- 
munion Service— Plate given by Sir B. Whitelocke and 
Sir R. Tichborne — John Milton in Bunhill Row — Pro- 
bable Acquaintance with Cokayn — Deaths of Milton and 
Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke — John Nesbitt in the Mar- 
shalsea— Set at Liberty— Goes to Holland— The Presby- 



XVI 



CONTENTS. 



terians and theRomanists struggle for Pre-eminence — Sa- 
tire on the King sung in a Conventicle — Sir John Moore 
becomes Lord Mayor — The Court Influence in his Favour 
— He betrays the City — Charges of Treason against the 
Earl of Shaftesbury and Samuel Wilson — Sir James Hay 
acts as a Spy — The Glover in Fleet Street — Both 
Charges fail — The Informer in Trouble . . . .156 

CHAPTER XL 

Magistrates hunting Fanatics — Trick played upon them — 
Accession of James II. — The brutal Jeffreys — Erection 
of Conventicles — The Stocking Weavers' Hall, Red- 
cross Street — John Bunyan visits John Strudwick — 
Bunyan sends a Sermon to Press — Is taken ill of Fever 
— Nursed by Strudwick — Visited by Friends — His dying 
Sayings — Buried in Strudwick's Vault at Bunhill — Co- 
kayn revises the unfinished Proofs of the Sermon — 
Writes the Preface — Strudwick's Work as a Deacon — 
Disappears from the Church Register — Probable Date of 
Death — His Interment in the same Vault as Bunyan — 
Accession of William and Mary — Cokayn's Illness — 
Preaches from a Chair — Choice of Nesbitt as Minister — 
Death of Cokayn, in his seventy-third Year — Burial in 
Bunhill Fields 180 

CHAPTER XII. 

The first "Stated Room" in Hare Court— Erected by 
John Nesbitt— The Title-deeds— Strudwick and Robert 
Andrews first Trustees — The Church Register — Names 
mentioned — Memoranda by Nesbitt — Benjamin Clarke 



CONTENTS, 



xvii 



cast out — The Change in Fashion — Nesbitt's Assistants 
— Addison's Satire quoted by Macaulay — Nesbitt's Ser- 
mons — Hurrion's Sermon on Nesbitt — Nesbitt's Minis- 
terial Work — Doctrinal Belief — As a Controversialist — 
Private Life — His long Illness — Selects the Text of his 
Funeral Sermon — His Wish concerning Death realised 
— Dies in his sixty-seventh year— Buried in Bunhill — An- 
cient Latin Inscription on his Tomb — Present Position 
of the Vault — Subsequent Ministers in Harecourt . . 206 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Sketch of Ministers from 1727 to 1859 .... 236 



APPENDIX. 

Outline of Sermon to House of Commons .... 247 
Extracts from Funeral Sermon on Colonel Underwood . 25 1 

Elegy on the Death of Cokayn 265 

Pedigree of Cokayn facing p. 270 



A* 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PORTRAIT OF THE REV. ALEX. RALEIGH, D.D. Frontispiece 

PORTRAIT OF THE REV. GEORGE COKAYN, B.A. facing p. 2\ 

PORTRAIT OF SIR BULSTRODE WHITELOCKE . . „ ' 88 

HARECOURT COMMUNION PLATE . . . . l6o 

PORTRAIT OF THE REV. JOHN NESBITT . . . ,, 213 



INTRODUCTION. 



I AM asked, as I suppose is but natural, 
to write a few words of introduction to 
this early history of the Church of which I 
have now been many years the minister. I 
do so with much cordiality. Soon after I 
undertook the pastoral charge of Harecourt 
in Canonbury, I became aware that the 
annals of the Church were in some respects 
of unusual interest, and my ancestry in the 
ministerial office of great worth, and, in 
individual instances, of some fame. In con- 
sequence, I have often had a vague desire, 
and sometimes a half-formed purpose, to 
make fuller search among the roots and 
beginnings of our religious history. I am 



XX 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



now thankful that I never found the leisure 
to do this, since the task has fallen into 
a^ler hands. I am sure I have not the 
skill, and that I could not have commanded 
the patience, which have been displayed so 
signally by my friend Mr. Marsh in his 
researches. He has spared no pains ; and 
he has had the good fortune to discover 
many things which are of more than local 
significance. The story he has drawn up, 
while of course possessing special interest 
to the Congregation whose origin and early 
history it records, contains many little pic- 
tures of the social and religious life of our 
fathers which would not be inappropriate in 
works of greater pretension ; which, in fact, 
serve in some modest measure to illustrate 
the history of our country during a very 
critical and formative time. 

Harecourt is the historic title of a Con- 
gregation of Independents in Canonbury. 



INTRODUCTION. 



XXI 



The name is derived from a court in the 
City between Aldersgate Street and Red- 
cross Street : a locality famous in the early 
history of Nonconformity from the number 
of Dissenting places of worship which were 
erected there. An Independent Chapel was 
erected in Harecourt in 1692 by the Rev. 
John Nesbitt. The Congregation was at that 
time mourning the loss of their founder, the 
Rev. George Cokayn, B.A., Minister of 
Pancras, Soper Lane, in 1648. He was 
ejected from his living in 1660, and his 
Congregation going out with him, formed 
an Independent Community in Redcross 
Street. Thence, after the death of George 
Cokayn, they removed to a building in 
Hare Court, called the " Stated Room," 
which was succeeded by a more commo- 
dious building in 1772. In this subsequent 
congregations worshipped until 1857. At 
that time many external circumstances con- 



XXII 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



curred in diminishing the extent and im- 
portance of the Congregation. The houses 
of City merchants which abounded in that 
neighbourhood had been supplanted by 
warehouses and cottage property; all the 
approaches to the Chapel were closed in by 
narrow alleys ; and the property became 
greatly deteriorated. At this time applica- 
tion was made by the surviving trustees, 
Messrs. Spicer, Mollett, and Dixon, to Vice- 
Chancellor Sir Page Wood, for authority to 
dispose of the property in the City, and 
reinvest the proceeds, in accordance with 
the trust, in some more eligible neighbour- 
hood. The requisite authority was obtained. 
Some time elapsed ; and then the trustees 
entered into negotiations with " The London 
Congregational Chapel Building Society," 
for the purchase of a building then in course 
of erection in St. Paul's Road, Canonbury. 
In due time the building was made over to 



INTRODUCTION. 



XX111 



them on generous and favourable terms by the 
Committee of that Society. The Church was 
removed from the narrow alleys of Hare Court 
to the more picturesque locality of Canonbury 
in 1857. At the first celebration of the Com- 
munion thirty-four members of the Church 
assembled. In 1870 there were — including 
communicants at the branch Churches which 
have sprung from us — 997 members. The 
sum collected for all objects in connection 
with the Church in 1859 — 60 was ^2,600. In 
1870 it was upwards of ;£ 8,000. There are 
now four branch Churches in different parts 
of. London, supported, in part, by the parent 
Church. We have much work on hand, of 
various kinds ; and although there can be 
no future to us at all resembling the earliest 
days of our history, when men of rank and 
title, soldiers, and statesmen (and probably, 
on rare occasions, even the chief personage 
in the State), came into our assembly as 



xxiv THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



worshippers and communicants, we are more 
than content with the future we may have 
if we are diligent and faithful. It is nobler 
in a Church to work for the people than to 
entertain the great. Much work — which 
only Christian Churches can effectually do, 
remains to be done, and is most urgently 
needed. "We rejoice in the activity and 
usefulness of all around us who serve the 
same gracious Lord, and who carry his 
message and gift of life to dying men. We 
are provoked by them, and we seek to 
provoke them in turn, to love and good 
works. Grace be with all them that love our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in sincerity. 

May this little history, so artlessly and 
pleasantly presented by my friend, have 
kindly acceptance and charitable interpre- 
tation by all who read it. 



ALEXANDER RALEIGH. 



CHAPTER I. 



George Cokayn — Calamy's Reference to him — His Birth — 
Studies at Cambridge — First Appearance in London— His 
Preface to Dr. Crispe's Sermons — The Free Grace Contro- 
versy — Appointment to Pancras, Soper Lane — Stow's 
Description of the Church — The Monuments — Bequests — 
Principal Members of the Congregation — Principles they 
professed — Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke — Sketch of his Life — 
Story of Cromwell and Henry Ireton — Whitelocke opposes 
Cromwell — Alderman Robert Tichborne — A famous Prayer 
Meeting — Colonel Rowland Wilson — His Wealth — Town 
Residence — Mary Wilson — John Ireton — Samuel Wilson — 
John Moore — Mode of Public Worship. 



HE earliest notice* of George Cokayn 



mentions that, after his ejectment, many 
eminent men adhered to him ; and the names 
of four are given — Alderman Tichborne, Ire- 
ton, Wilson, and Sir John Moore. Refer- 
ence is also made to two sermons which he 




Dr. Calamy. 
B 



2 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



preached, and the preface to a third which he 
wrote. 

Beyond these facts, nothing whatever was 
known of him. Yet the slight clue thus fur- 
nished led to the discovery of those facts which 
are now announced for the first time. Of the 
parentage, birth, and college life of George 
Cokayn, there will never be much known. 
Subsequent events in his life identify him 
with a babe who received the christian name 
of George in the parish church of Cople, Bed- 
fordshire, on the 1 6th January, 1619. This 
was the son of John and Elizabeth Cokayn. 
In 1639 one George Cokayn took the degree 
of B.A. at Cambridge. He was then twenty 
years of age, and had been educated at Sid- 
ney Sussex College. He never made use 
of his degree,- but the fact that he assisted 
in compiling a Greek lexicon proves that 
he was possessed of considerable learning. 
In 1646 he made his first appearance in 



GEORGE COKAYN. 



3 



London, in the character of a theologian. 
The works of Dr. Tobias Crispe, an eminent 
Calvinist, were published, and Cokayn wrote 
the preface to one of the volumes. This is 
the happiest specimen of his composition 
now in existence. The fundamental princi- 
ples of his theology were Free Grace for 
Sinners, and Christ the first gift to the Be- 
liever. This latter doctrine is the subject 
of the preface, and is set forth in eloquent 
and persuasive terms. Arminius was then 
living ; and in the theological world the 
controversy about these doctrines ran high. 
Dr. Crispe's name furnished a new title for 
the theologians, who christened the believers 
in Free Grace " Crispians." Two years after 
he composed this preface, George Cokayn 
wrote himself " Minister of Pancras, Soper 
Lane." The precise date of his appointment 
is not known. In the journals of the House 
of Commons for 1643, there is a record of 



4 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



the appointment of Christopher Goad to the 
living, and Walker states that he was soon 
afterwards ejected by Parliament. Cokayn's 
fame as a theologian was established by his 
preface to Crispe's sermons. He became 
chaplain to Sk\ Bulstrode Whitelocke, M.P., 
and was then appointed to the vacant living 
of Pancras, where he found only a small con- 
gregation. 

This was the most famous City church 
during the Commonwealth and Protectorate. 
Three members of the congregation became 
sheriffs of London, and two of them filled the 
important office of lord mayor. The church 
stood on the north side of Pancras Lane ; and 
the chief entrance was from Soper Lane, now 
Queen Street, Cheapside. Stow says "the 
church was small, but had divers rich 
parishioners belonging to it, and many of 
them liberal benefactors." It was repaired 
and beautified in 1621, towards the cost of 



PANCRAS, SOPER LANE. 



5 



which Alderman Sir Thomas Bennet, Dame 
Anne Soame, and Mr. Thomas Chapman gave 
liberally. There was a handsome porch ; and 
the edifice was surmounted with a steeple. 
The church was erected in the twelfth cen- 
tury, and many important personages were 
buried within its vaults. Amongst them were 
several lord mayors of London. John Barnes, 
mayor in 1370, was the earliest of those whose 
names have been preserved. John Hadley 
was mayor in 1379; John Stockton in 1470; 
and Richard Gardner in 1478. Some of 
these were contemporaneous with Sir Richard 
Whittington and Sir William Waller. There 
were many others whose names cannot 
be associated now with events of public 
importance, but who occupied important 
positions four or five hundred years ago. 
Fragments of monuments erected to the 
memory of these men existed in the time 
of Cokayn ; but they very much resembled 



6 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



those which may now be seen in the vaults 
of St. Paul's Cathedral. The faces had lost 
all their comeliness, and the bodies lacked 
their full complement of limbs. There was 
one monument to the memory of Queen 
Elizabeth, for which the church was cele- 
brated. This was presented by a member 
of the congregation in 1617. On a tablet 
was recorded the murder of one Robert 
Packenton, mercer, in 1536,* "who was killed 
with a gun as he was going to Mass from 
his house in Cheap." The murderer escaped. 
Several years afterwards, a thief condemned 
for a felony at Banbury, just before his 
execution confessed the murder. On a mo- 
nument in the north wall of the choir was 
this inscription : "Hereunder lieth buried 
James Huysh, citizen and grocer, London, 
third son of John H\rvsh, of Beaufort, in 
the county of Somerset, Esq. ; which James 

* S tow's Survey. 



MONUMENTS AND BEQUESTS. 



7 



had to his first wife Margaret Bourchier, 
by whom he had issue eleven children ; 
and to his second wife Mary Moffet, by 
whom he had issue eighteen children. He 
died the 20th day of August, An. Dom. 
1590." On boards in the porch were re- 
corded the benefactions. Three small tene- 
ments in Whitecross Street were bequeathed 
on conditions that appear very curious now. 
A sermon was to be preached on the birth- 
day of the benefactor, after which the minis- 
ter and churchwardens dined together at a 
cost not exceeding £2. Provision was also 
made for sweeping the pulpit at St. Paul's 
Cross once a week, and for hanging two 
lanterns containing lighted candles in a 
street near the church. The parish officers 
were two churchwardens, and the ward offi- 
cers ; one common councilman, one inquest, 
one constable, and one scavenger. There 
was a parsonage house, which was occupied 



8 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



by Cokayn, in the north-west corner of Pan- 
eras Lane, in Queen Street. The church 
was destroyed in the Fire of London, and 
never rebuilt, so that the exact site is doubt- 
ful now ; but a portion of the churchyard 
remains, and a few table tombs are still 
standing. Many civic ceremonials of much 
interest, from an antiquarian point of view, 
were celebrated in the church, when the 
Lord Mayor, attended by the officers and 
the corporation, took part in religious wor- 
ship. Under the pastorate of Cokayn, the 
congregation rapidly increased in numbers 
and importance. Independency was the 
fashion of that time. Army officers, members 
of Parliament, Ministers of State, high civic 
personages, attended St. Pancras. George 
Cokayn and the leading members of his 
congregation always professed Independent 
principles. 

But their profession never changed with 



FROM PANCRAS TO REDCROSS STREET. 9 



the change time brought in the fashion of 
religious belief. When Cokayn was ejected 
from Soper Lane, his congregation went out 
after him. The worshippers in Redcross 
Street are identical with those of Pancras. 
A few distinguished persons can be traced 
from 1648, until the period of their deaths, 
in active co-operation with Cokayn. By far 
the most distinguished member of the Pan- 
cras congregation was Sir Bulstrode White- 
locke, one of the Lord Commissioners of the 
Great Seal. Lord Campbell characterises 
him " as one of the most interesting as well 
as amiable characters of the age in which 
he lived." His " Memorials of English Af- 
fairs " have furnished every modern historian 
with materials. Carlyle quotes him upwards 
of a hundred times in his life of Cromwell. 
As a lawyer his reputation* is honoured as 
a "zealous and enlightened law -reformer." 

* Lord Campbell. 



IO THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



In Parliament he occupied the forefront be- 
fore Cromwell took possession of the helm of 
affairs. Three times he was chosen a Com- 
missioner to treat of peace with Charles L 
He was consulted by the leading politicians 
of the age. Archbishop Laud had the direction 
of his studies at college ; Bishop Juxon was his 
fellow-student ; Selden and Hyde were his in- 
timate friends ; Widdrington was his fellow- 
commissioner of the Great Seal ; he fought 
with Hampden, and Cromwell took counsel 
with him as to the policy of assuming regal 
powers. Through all the varying changes 
of that stirring age he was the acknowledged 
counsellor of all parties in difficulties of a 
legal and technical character ; but he never 
attached himself to any particular party. In 
the Civil "War he always spoke on behalf of 
peace ; in the treatment of the King he reso- 
lutely opposed his death ; no deed of violence 
was ever countenanced by him. He was in 



SIR BULSTRODE WHITELOCKE. 



1 1 



religious matters an Independent; favouring 
liberty of conscience for all dissenters. His 
principles were severely tested. Once he 
was summoned before the Council of State, 
because, as Recorder of Abingdon, he would 
not prosecute some stiff-necked Nonconform- 
ists. Upon another occasion he was directed 
by Parliament to prepare a charge upon 
which to try Archbishop Laud, but refused, 
and being questioned thereupon in the House, 
replied, "The archbishop did me the favour 
to take special care of my breeding at St. 
John's College, Oxford, and it would be dis- 
ingenuous and ungrateful in me, the pupil, 
to be personally the instrument of taking 
the life of a man who has been so instru- 
mental for the bettering of mine/'* Amongst 

* A deep religious feeling was implanted in his mind when 
twenty-five by an extraordinary family occurrence. He was 
residing at the time near Henley, at Fawley Court. One 
Whitsuntide he drove his mother thither. She insisted 
upon walking under the avenue of limes which led to the 



12 



THE STGRY OF HARECOURT. 



religious men he was held in such high esteem 
as to be appointed a member of the Assembly 
of Divines, who sat for the purpose of settling 
the religion of the country. There are three 
incidents in his career which are worthy of 
special note. After the battle of Marston 
Moor, a meeting of leading politicians was 
held in Whitehall, at which Sir Bulstrode 
was consulted as to the means which should 
be adopted to get rid of the "Incendiary" 
Cromwell. Sir Bulstrode recommended that 
he should be let alone. Upon another occa- 
sion Cromwell and Henry Ireton went home 
with Whitelocke to supper, and the two 
guests entertained their host with stories 
until midnight. When Cromwell and Ireton 
left, they were arrested by a street patrol 
for being out of doors beyond the prescribed 

mansion, and reasoned with her son against fear of death. At 
supper she drank to the whole household a solemn farewell; 
and next morning was found dead in bed, her hands raised in 
the attitude of prayer. 



SIR BULSTRODE AND CROMWELL. 



13 



hour without passes. The most memorable 
interview between Whitelocke and Cromwell 
took place one summer's evening in St. 
James's Park. They met accidentally under 
the trees by the lake, and Cromwell asked 
Sir Bulstrode what objection there was to 
his assumption of regal authority. The re- 
ply was unfavourable, and an estrangement 
took place between them. In consequence 
of a family connection with Berkshire, Sir 
Bulstrode took a warm interest in George 
Cokayn, and their friendship continued until 
death. 

Alderman Tichborne is the first named by 
Calamy, and his connection with Cokayn 
, is demonstrated by incontrovertible evidence. 
He obtained a seat in Parliament during 
the Civil War through the influence of 
his City friends, and quickly advanced in 
favour not only with his brother members, 
but also with the public. The first office 



14 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



which he filled was that of Lieutenant of 
the Tower, and he little thought then 
that he would terminate his career within 
the walls of that gloomy fortress. There is 
one incident in his early life which will not 
be thought uninteresting now. In 1647 there 
was considerable disaffection amongst the 
army officers, but they ultimately acknow- 
ledged their error, and in December Parlia- 
ment selected three members of their body 
to hold a prayer meeting with the penitent 
men. Those chosen were Tichborne, Henry 
Ireton, and Oliver Cromwell. Tichborne 
was a young man of little experience in 
political matters, and committed one error 
which he afterwards bitterly repented. But 
when Cokayn preached his first sermon 
at Pancras, no sorrow dimmed the prospect 
of his future life. He was rapidly advancing 
in favour both in the City and in Parliament, 
and he was blest with the possession of a 



ALDERMAN TICHBORNE AND COL. WILSON. 15 



loving and devoted wife, of whom we shall 
hear more when the clouds have gathered 
about her husband's path. For the present 
Anne Tichborne may well occupy an envia- 
ble position amongst the matrons of Pancras, 
so bright and happy does the future promise 
of her life appear. 

Colonel Rowland Wilson and Mary, his 
wife, were two more members of the con- 
gregation. Her maiden name was Carleton, 
and she had one sister. Both sisters were 
celebrated for their beauty, and married 
young. Rowland Wilson was only twenty 
years of age when he espoused Mary, who 
was not older than himself. She was of 
a gentle and loving disposition, and pos- 
sessed a cultivated mind. He was the only 
son of his father, and with him partner in 
a firm of wealthy foreign merchants. One 
ship of theirs which was captured by the 
Duke of Monmouth during the Civil War, 



l6 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



had ;£ 2 0,000 on board, the whole of which 
was thereby lost. His public advance- 
ment was rapid. By his father's influence 
he became a member of Parliament, and 
as Colonel of the Orange regiment of City 
Train Bands, he took part in the reduction 
of Newport Pannel.* At this time he was 
only thirty-one years of age, and the ex- 
cessive fatigue he underwent threw him 
into a consumption. He was elected an 
alderman of the City of London when only 
thirty-three, and chosen one of the Council 
of State at thirty-five. During a brilliant 
but short career, he won the esteem of all 
parties in the City and Government. A 
more charming couple did not exist in the 
congregation. They were young and wealthy. 
Their City residence was in Bishopsgate 
Street, where they entertained a numerous 
circle of friends ; and the curiosities which 

* "Memorials of English Affairs," by Sir B. Whitelocke. 



COLONEL AND MRS. WILSON. T7 



adorned the rooms, brought from distant 
portions of the world, had an exaggerated 
importance amongst the common people. 
It was particularly well known, amongst 
other things, that in Rowland Wilson's 
house* were some parrots that talked like 
human beings. A deeper and more precious 
insight into their characters will be furnished 
hereafter. At the time of which we write 
dreams of future advancement and long years 
of married joys flitted through the minds 
of each. 

John Ireton, who is named by Calamy, 
was the brother of Henry Ireton, Cromwell's 
son-in-law. He had not at this time risen 
to any conspicuous eminence in the City, 
and was not a member of Parliament. As 
a captain in the army, he took part with 
Cromwell in the siege of Bristol, where he 
sustained a broken arm ; but it was not 

* Noble's " Lives of the Regicides. '* 
C 



l8 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



until near the close of the Protectorate that 
he came into prominence. 

Samuel Wilson and John Moore, the other 
two mentioned in Calamy, had not done 
anything at this period which entitles them 
to special, mention. They were members of 
the congregation, and in their turn played 
conspicuous parts in the social or political 
history of the country. There were a number 
of others whose names may be mentioned 
who became members of the congregation 
soon after Cokayn's appointment — City 
merchants, tradesmen, and others. William 
Pendlebury ; Jeremy Rawstorne, merchant 
tailor ; Henry Lyte ; Jacob Willett, of St. 
Laurence Lane ; Benjamin Clarke, who sold 
fringed gloves at a shop in Fleet Street, 
will reappear in the course of the story. 
Besides these there were, of course, many 
others whose names will never be recovered. 
When an occasional service was held in 



SAMUEL WILSON AND JOHN MOORE. 19 



the evening, the church was lighted with 
candles, and the rich folk brought their 
male servants armed with staves to beat 
off the rogues as they returned home through 
the narrow streets. The tradesmen were 
escorted by their apprentices armed in like 
manner. To keep these serving lads and 
waiting men in order during service wou^d, 
occupy all the time of the ward officials. 
Upon dark nights, lanterns or torches were 
made use of, and the journey to and from 
church was one full of adventure, if not of 
serious risk. The service of the church 
was strictly Independent. There was no use 
made of the Prayer-Book; but the minister 
prayed extempore. The psalms of David 
were sung by the whole congregation, and 
the sermon occupied the chief portion of 
the service. As to the doctrine preached, 
we obtain the best evidence from the pub- 
lished works of Cokayn. These show him to 



20 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



have been far in advance of many of the 
ministers of his own time. In the funda- 
mental doctrines of the Christian religion 
he held those which were common to all 
the churches ; but he differed from many in 
the breadth of his Calvinistic opinions, and 
he outstripped all in the catholicity of his 
views with regard to liberty of conscience. 
This was a grand distinction for a preacher 
in the age to which he belonged. 



CHAPTER II. 



Parliamentary Fast Days — Divine Service at Margaret's, West- 
minster — George Cokayn invited to preach — Scene in the 
Churchyard — The Congregation — Description of the Preacher 
— The Sermon — Plea for Toleration — Demands Liberty of 
Conscience for the Godly — Thanks of the House passed to 
him — Pride's Purge — Preface to the Sermon — Motto of 
Cokayn's Life : Duty and Christ — His Belief in the Mil- 
lennium — Invited to preach a Second Time — Declines the 
Honour — Execution of Charles — Colonel Wilson and Sir 
B. Whitelocke oppose the Trial — Tichborne sits as Judge, 
and signs the Death-Warrant — His subsequent Regret. 

T T was the custom at this time for the 
House of Commons to keep a day of 
fast monthly, when the members attended 
St. Margaret's Church, and selected preachers 
prayed and preached. To be invited to 
preach was an honour which was highly 
esteemed by the ministers. In October, 



22 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



1648, two ministers were chosen to preach 
upon the 29th of November, and only one 
accepted the invitation. This was Obadiah 
Sedgwick. Mr. Gurnall declined, and then 
Mr. Faireclough was invited. When the re- 
fusal of Mr. Faireclough was reported to the 
House on November 17, George Cokayn's 
name was mentioned for the first time. 
Therefore he only had twelve days in which 
to prepare his sermon. Episcopalians, Pres- 
byterians, and Independents had in turn 
occupied the pulpit at St. Margaret's, and 
the constant repetition of the service tended 
to make politicians of some of the preachers. 
One, at least, in the 'time of the second 
Charles, lost his head for a sermon which 
he preached. George Cokayn was twenty- 
nine years old when he preached before the 
House. 

The scene upon the occasion of these 
fast sermons was one of much interest. 



COKAYN AT ST. MARGARET'S. 23 



Round about the church were posted those 
psalm-singing soldiers, in leather-jerkins, 
who made such irresistible thrusts with 
pikestaff or halberd in their conflicts with 
the king's soldiers ; men who wanted to 
settle the nation, and religion also, after a 
thorough military fashion. Upon the occa- 
sion of Cokayn's sermon there were many 
present who never after mixed with the 
same throng in the church. In the Speaker's 
pew sat Lenthall, and scattered about were 
Seldon, Bradshaw, Sir Thomas Widdring- 
ton, and many others, with respect to whom 
Colonel Pride had a commission at that 
moment in his pocket. Several of these 
men were excluded from the House of Com- 
mons before the sermon they heard on 
November 29th was out of the press. There 
were a few present specially interested in 
the success of the young preacher. Amongst 
these were Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke, Colonel 



2 4 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Rowland Wilson, and Alderman Robert 
Tichborne. Glancing round upon that as- 
sembly, men will be recognised who helped 
to rule England for ten years without a State 
church, a House of Lords, or a king. A 
congregation of flowing-haired, white-col- 
lared, velvet-coated men — men who wore 
great jack-boots and short laced breeches ; 
men who did very much to secure the civil 
rights of the people of England, and estab- 
lish liberty of conscience towards God. To 
these men, whose king was then a prisoner 
in Carisbrook Castle, and whose soldiers 
had completely beaten down their enemies, 
Obadiah Sedgwick and George Cokayn 
preached. The junior preached last. After 
the first sermon, a psalm was sung, and 
then George Cokayn appeared in the pulpit. 
Rich brown hair, parted in the centre of 
the forehead, flowed down in clustered masses 
over his shoulders. His face shone with 



THE REV. GEORGE COKAYN. 



THE PREACHER AND THE SERMON. 25 



ruddy health, and was aglow with enthu- 
siasm. To the charms of his person were 
superadded a vigorous intellect and a natural 
eloquence which irresistibly won the hearts 
of his hearers. He wore the Geneva gown 
and bands common to the Independents and 
Presbyterians. 

He chose for his text Psalm lxxxii., verses 
6, 7, and 8 : " I have said, Ye are gods : and 
all of you are children of the most High. 
But ye shall die like men, and fall like one 
of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the 
earth : for thou shalt inherit all nations." 
The sermon opened with a declaration that 
all men were within God's view, and that 
He had stretched out a line amongst them 
and laid judgment to it, whereby the dis- 
proportion of men's ways to the will of God 
were made visible. He divided his subject 
into two parts — the Flesh and the Spirit ; 
and, after a short explanation of these, he 



26 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



divided and subdivided the matter of his 
sermon, until he accumulated thirty-two 
separate points. The patience of hearers 
of the Gospel in those days never was 
matched. With heroic boldness he set forth 
the honour and glory of all earthly powers, 
and their exact relation to God. Then with 
amazing vigour he denounced the vacillating 
policy which had manifested itself amongst 
the members of Parliament. Finally, he 
pleaded that every religious sect might have 
perfect freedom granted to them in their 
worship. After allusions to special difficul- 
ties which then beset the House, he appealed 
to them for freedom of religious worship. 
"Take heed/' he said, "how you oppose 
the Spirit of God and the spiritual worship 
of God." There were many crying out for 
toleration in those days; but it was not so 
wide in its scope as that for which Cokayn 
pleaded. Toleration was generally under- 



THE SERMON. 



27 



stood to mean full freedom of religious wor- 
ship for one sect, and a limited freedom for 
others ; but the plea which the preacher set 
forth was for all " those which in truth 
worship God in Spirit." Before long Cokayn 
realised how certain of the sects, not resting 
satisfied with freedom of religious worship, 
sought exclusive privileges and lusted after 
place and power ; but throughout a long 
and active ministerial career, he advocated 
the right of all the godly to equal privileges 
with the Independents. 

The service occupied between three and 
four hours ; and at its close Cokayn's friends 
congratulated him warmly upon the ability 
displayed in his sermon. When the House 
assembled for business, Colonel Rowland 
Wilson was directed to present thanks to 
Cokayn for the sermon which he preached. 

The preface, which was dated Decem- 
ber 11, contains direct allusions to Pride's 



28 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Purge, which commenced December 6. There 
are two sentences also in it which, put 
together, display the guiding principle of 
his life : " Turn not your backs upon your 
duties : walk in a direct line to Christy 
These words, addressed to the members 
of the Long Parliament in 1648, were 
applied by Cokayn afterwards to every 
member of his church, and they are as 
applicable now as when they were first 
spoken. The title-page of the sermon fur- 
nishes a glimpse of his character not pre- 
viously discoverable. It reads thus : " Flesh 
expiring and the Spirit inspiring in the 
new earth, or God himself supplying the 
room of withered powers, judging and in- 
heriting all nations/' Throughout the dis- 
course the same feeling struggles for utter- 
ance. The reign of God had begun — the 
millennium of peace, and joy, and spiritual 

concord had commenced. In other sermons 

f 



THE SERMON PUBLISHED. 



2 9 



of the same time this belief was plainly 
expressed, and it led in after years to one 
of the most remarkable insurrections to which 
religious fanaticism ever gave birth. Not 
many years elapsed before Cokayn found 
out his mistake ; but though disappointed, 
he laboured on under the impulse of those 
sentences, the essence of which were duty, 
as comprehending man, and Christ, as the 
supreme object of life. 

His sermon gave more than ordinary 
satisfaction to the House, and on the 18th 
of December, only seven days after he wrote 
his preface, he was again asked to preach. 
Upon this occasion his name stands first 
on the journals of the House. He declined 
the honour, and was never asked again. 
The reason of his refusal can only be con- 
jectured. He may have disapproved of 
certain measures which were sanctioned by 
the House, or his friends may have repre- 



30 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



sented to him the serious responsibility 
which would attach to him if he meddled 
with the politics of the Government. Con- 
siderable difficulty was experienced in 
obtaining a preacher for the next fast, and 
the fact of Cokayn having been named 
again immediately after his first appear- 
ance, shows how highly his sermon was 
appreciated. 

From this time Cokayn devoted himself 
exclusively to the work of his church. He 
abstained altogether from taking part in 
those attempts to settle the religion of the 
nation, in which Baxter was so conspicuous 
a labourer ; and he was amply repaid for 
his devotion by the manner in which the 
members of his church supported him after 
his ejectment. 

The execution of Charles the First in 
1649, was not succeeded by that settlement 
of the nation which the rulers hoped. Colonel 



EXECUTION OF CHARLES I. 



3 1 



Rowland Wilson* was one of the com- 
missioners chosen to sit upon the king's 
trial, and though urged with much vehe- 
mence to act, resolutely refused. Sir Bul- 
strode Whitelocke also abstained from taking 
part in the trial, although he thereby ran 
great risk. He left London during several 
of the most important days, and when the 
king was executed he spent several hours 
in prayer. Tichborne did sit upon the trial, 
and attached his, name to the death-warrant. 
He was carried away by the example of 
his seniors in position and experience ; but 
the part he took was a source of unceasing 
sorrow to him during the remainder of his 
life. 

* "Memorials of the English Affairs." 



CHAPTER III. 



Death of Lady Whitelocke — Colonel Rowland Wilson dies — 
The Funeral Ceremony — Singular Record of the Event — 
Colonel Wilson's Character — Sir Bulstrode's Testimony — 
Mary Wilson's Diary — Conversation with her Dying Hus- 
band — His Last Wishes — Mary's Grief at his Death — Her 
Treatment by her Father-in-law—Her Faith and Resigna- 
tion — The Funeral Sermon — Preface by Cokayn — Samuel 
Wilson buys Gloves in Fleet Street— Mary Wilson's Story 
of her Wooers — Her Mother in Holland — She flies from 
London — Sir Bulstrode follows her — She accepts him — 
Cites Scriptural Reasons — Surprise of her Friends — The 
Marriage — Birth of her Son Samuel. 



HE year 1649 was memorable in the 



annals of Pancras through the death 
of Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke's second wife, a 
daughter of Lord Willoughby, of Parham. By 
his two wives he had ten children. Cokayn' s 
position as chaplain necessarily brought him 
much in contact with Sir Bulstrode, and at 




DEATH OF COLONEL WILSON. 



33 



a time of such deep sorrow he was found an 
invaluable comforter. In the beginning of 
1650 death again visited the congregation. 
Colonel Rowland Wilson died February 19, 
in the year of his shrievalty. His loss was 
publicly mourned, and members of the House 
of Commons united with civic authorities in 
a procession at his funeral. The little church 
of Pancras was too small to hold all the 
mourners, and the service took place in 
Peter's Church, Cornhill. A youth named 
Samuel Crispe followed the procession from 
the house of deceased in Bishopsgate Street 
to the church, and from thence to the grave 
in the churchyard of Martin Outwich. 
When he became a man, he wrote on the 
fly-leaf of the funeral sermon* which was 
preached details of what he saw ; and to 
him we are indebted for several interesting 
facts. He gives the following statement of 

* This sermon is in Dr. Williams's Library. 
D 



34 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



the procession : " Attendants. His father, 
most hurt. All his relations, about fifty, 
in long mourning. Lord President Brad- 
shaw and the Council of State. A great 
part of the Parliament House. The most 
of the aldermen, and, I think, the Lord 
Mayor. The officers of his regiment, the 
Orange ; a vast number of friends and 
citizens ; about 1200 in all." This shows 
the public estimation in which he was held ; 
but far more interesting particulars, as tend- 
ing to develop his character, are furnished 
by a diary of his widow. She thus narrates 
the closing incidents of their married life : 
*" About a fortnight before my dear and 
precious husband died, he spoke to me 
concerning his intention for to make a will. 
I» desired him to take no other care of me, 
but to leave me so as I might live like his 
widow ; nay, I did desire him for to leave me 

* " Life of Sir B. Whitelocke." 



CLOSING INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE. 



35 



nothing, but during my widowhood. For 
thereby I thought I should not be troubled 
with any motions for to alter my condition, 
if God should ever lay that sad affliction 
upon me. My husband told me I was young, 
and it was fit that I should marry, and he 
left that to me to do as God should direct 
me, and he would very often say he hoped 
I should live and see many happy days 
when he was dead and gone ; that I thought 
was impossible ; but with God all things are 
possible." 

From another passage in Mary Wilson's 
diary we infer that the marriage had not been 
one which Colonel Wilson's parents approved. 
She writes : " I must confess God was so 
good to me in that night in which my 
husband died, to move the hearts of his 
father and mother for to pity me ; and, 
indeed, at that time I was a sad object to 
move pity in the hardest hearts. But the 



36 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



next day, when his parents did understand 
he had made his will and left me full, and 
had left all his estate unto me, they did foam 
and rage both against me and him, so that 
I think the like was never seen. His father 
came to my bed-side the very next day after 
his son, his only son, died, and told me 
I should not have one penny more than 
the extremity of the law would give me ; 
but God turned his cruelty into good for 
me ; for if it had not been for his hard usage, 
I think I should have sunk under my sharp 
affliction and unspeakable loss. God can 
bring good out of evil, so he did for me ; 
for by that means I was forced out of my 
bed and chamber. The first time I went 
out of my chamber was to ask counsel of 
some lawyers. My cause was so just, that 
my father-in-law's own lawyers gave their 
judgment for me ; but my father would be 
ruled by none. My husband died a Member 



CHARACTER OF THE COLONEL. 



31 



of Parliament and one of the Council of State. 
He was so good a man that all who knew 
him did show love and pity to me for his 
sake. Some of the chief members of the 
Parliament House, knowing what a hard- 
hearted man my father-in-law was, sent to 
me, and told me, if need were, there should 
come forty or fifty of their fellow-members to 
speak with him, and to tell him that they 
would take care of me, so that he should not 
wrong me, for they said the memory of my 
dear husband was very precious unto them. 
I returned them very many thanks, and told 
them I hoped God would order all things for 
my good in the end, for I could not endure to 
go to law with my dear husband's father, 
notwithstanding his hard usage of me. At 
last he was persuaded to make an end, and 
I did compound for a sum of money for quiet- 
ness' sake. I thought it was a good thing to 
have peace with all men, and I was so sad for 



3» 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



my loss/' She tells her story with such pathos, 
that it is difficult to believe she mourned and 
wept more than two hundred years ago. 

Sir Bulstrode says of Colonel Wilson : * 
"Though but a young man yet, he was an 
elder in wisdom and abilities. He was a 
gentleman of excellent parts and great piety, 
of a solid, sober temper and judgment, and 
very honest and just in all his actions. He 
was beloved both in the House, City, and 
army, and by all that knew him, and his 
death as much lamented." 

The Rev. Obadiah Sedgwick, B.D., who 
was at that time minister of the Gospel at 
Covent Garden, preached the funeral sermon. 
It is intituled, " Christ the Life and Death 
the Gain of every True Believer : or, the 
Life of a Saint resolved into Christ, and 
his Death into Gain. Held forth clearly in 
a Sermon preached at the late sad and 

* " Memorials of the English Affairs." 



HIS FUNERAL SERMON. 



39 



solemn funeral of the Right Worshipful 
Rowland Wilson, Esq., a Member of the 
Parliament of England and of the Honour- 
able Council of State, and one of the Al- 
dermen and Sheriffs of the City of London." 
" Together with an Epistle Dedicatory : 
wherein is an exact account given upon 
some years' more than ordinary experience 
of the superlative worth of this eminent 
servant of Christ and of the Commonwealth. 
By George Cokayn." 

In this preface all the merits of the de- 
ceased are set forth in the peculiar phraseo- 
logy acceptable at that period. 

" He was a Timotheus in the Common- 
wealth," says Cokayn, "naturally caring for 
their State. He was indeed, by the Provi- 
dence of God, in a very short time called 
to several places of highest honour and 
greatest trust amongst us, wherein he always 
behaved himself, though as a ruler over the 



40 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



persons of men, yet as a true servant to 
the good of men : as in his private, so in his 
public capacity, no one's less than his own. 
He still desired that justice might be as a 
river, and never coveted to pale it in as a 
pond for his private use. He delighted im- 
mediately to serve the public, and at the 
most but collaterally himself. Yea, many 
a time hath he vigorously and heartily 
appeared against his own private interest, 
that he might approve himself a faithful 
friend to the public. I know nothing he 
got by all his service, except Thrasybulus 
his reward, a crown of two branches, bays, 
whereby he never contracted the people's 
envy, but to his last had an interest in all 
men's good word and affection. And (which 
was the crown of all) he ever stood firm to 
his principles, and could never be justly num- 
bred amongst them who were given to change, 
always abhorring to wear the glove which 



cokayn's preface to sermon. 41 



would fit both hands. If at any time he 
went with the stream, it was because the 
stream went with him ; and still as the tide 
turned, he owned his principles, and boldly 
adventured to swim against it. No one can 
charge him to be like the bulrush, which 
always waves with the wind ; but all that 
knew him can, without falsehood or flattery, 
affirm that nothing could move him but reason 
and honesty. The truth is, he was in this 
capacity a man so excelling, that every one 
was ambitious (as they were about Homer) 
to prove him to be his countryman/' 

Cokayn admired Wilson because there was 
so much in him which was akin to his own 
nature ; that noble independence to which 
he alluded was well brought out. " Shortly 
before he died," proceeds Cokayn, "being 
asked by a friend whom he loved, How it 
was with his Spirit ? his answer presently 
was, ' I have now no trouble to wrestle 



42 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



with, but the unwillingness of those that 
are dear to me to submit to the will of 
the Lord concerning me, 5 expressing in him- 
self much joy and satisfaction in his expec- 
tation of the sudden accomplishment of God's 
good pleasure." The text chosen by Sedg- 
wick was Phil. i. 21: "To me to live is 
Christ, and to die is gain/ 5 In the course of 
the sermon, the preacher says of Wilson, 
" He was an humble Christian under all 
those eminent places of service unto which 
he was called. For one who lived so short 
a space of time (he lived not above thirty- 
six years in all), he was advanced to as 
many, and (as the times now are) to as 
great places of employment, as any of his 
rank (I think) in the land. To be a Parlia- 
ment-man. To be of the Council of State. 
To be a Justice in the country. To be an 
alderman and sheriff of this great city." 

The Wilson who is mentioned by Calamy 



SAMUEL WILSON. 



43 



was probably one who bore the Christian 
name of Samuel. He married Mary Wil- 
son's sister, and was possibly cousin to Row- 
land Wilson. The firm of Wilson was a large 
and important one, and from statements in 
the State Papers, the identification with the 
firm in which Colonel Wilson and his father 
were partners is fairly presumable. Their 
ships traded to all parts of the globe. They 
did business with agents in the Indies, New 
England, Nova Scotia, and the Canary Isles. 
Samuel Wilson was a capital specimen of 
an English merchant of that age. He lived 
in the country, near the Tower, and he kept 
a private barge at his own wharf. In politics 
he was a Whig ; in religion an Independent. 
He was of a frank and outspoken character, 
and his boldness frequently involved him 
in trouble. Nearly two hundred years ago 
he bought a pair of fringed gloves at a 
shop in Fleet Street, and that trifling 



44 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



purchase is mentioned in an important State 
Paper. 

With such persons as these amongst his 
congregation, Cokayn found his time amply 
employed, and the result of his influence is 
apparent in the lives of the leading men 
whose names have been preserved. As 
chaplain to Sir Bulstrode, he had on im- 
portant occasions to conduct religious ser- 
vices at his house, and during his widowhood 
Cokayn was a constant visitor at the Lord 
Chancellor's Chelsea residence. Nor was 
sweet Mary Wilson, the young widow, un- 
cared for by him. He was her adviser and 
comforter in that time of anguish and sorrow 
she has so pathetically described in her diary, 
and afterwards she took counsel with him 
when a certain period of mourning elapsed, 
and suitors wooed her. She was young, 
fair, and rich, and lovers approached her 
long before she harboured a thought for 



MARY WILSON AND HER WOOERS. 45 



herself about second marriage. She tells 
her own tale best. " I had very many 
matches offered me, but I could not bring 
my heart to like any, so that out of very 
many offers, which were persons both rich 
and honourable, I could not fix my heart 
upon any one. I would often wish to go to 
the grave to my dead husband, rather than 
to be married to the best husband in the 
world; and when I did not know what to 
do nor how to be quiet, then I was in great 
straits. My own father was dead many years 
before, and my mother was then in Holland, 
and had been there for many years, so that 
she was altogether a stranger to those gen- 
tlemen who were well-wished to me, which 
made her incapable of giving me her advice. 
Besides, I had very few other friends to advise 
with, so that I was in a great strait, some 
telling me I did sin if I did not marry, 
because I should decay my natural life with 



46 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



my overmuch sorrow, and whom to chuse I 
knew not, for all were alike to me. At last 
I went to God by prayer, and did lay my 
condition before the Lord, and did beg of 
Him, that if it were His good pleasure to 
have me alter my condition, that He would 
chuse out a fitting match for me, as for my 
own part I did slight riches and honors." 

There was about this time a certain knight 
who consulted Cokayn upon the delicate sub- 
ject of marriage. 

" When I was in this sweet frame of spirit," 
Mary proceeds, " amongst many others there 
came a grave gentleman that had ten chil- 
dren, which at the first notice did startle 
me, and did cause all my friends to be 
against it. But after I had spent very much 
time in seeking God to direct me, at last I 
was brought to consider that children were 
a blessing — * Happy is the man that hath 
his quiver full of them, they shall not be 



SIR BULSTRODE PROPOSES. 



47 



ashamed, but they shall speak with the ene- 
mies in the gate/ And seeing they were a 
blessing and the gift of God, as you may 
see in Psalm cxxviii., the 3rd and 4th verses, 
there the Lord saith, ' Thy wife shall be as 
a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house : 
thy children like olive plants round about 
thy table. Behold, thus shall the man be 
blessed that feareth the Lord,' — so that I 
durst not refuse a man for having ten bless- 
ings. Nay, though he told me he would 
settle ail his estate upon his other children, 
I durst not refuse him for that neither, for 
I knew if God would give me any children 
that He was able to provide for them. And 
in marrying him, I thought I might be in 
a capacity to do some good amongst those 
children. It is true he was at that time in 
a very honourable place of trust in the 
nation, being one of the Lords Commissioners 
of the Great Seal, but his great office was 



48 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



no motive to move me, for I had before re- 
fused both riches and very great honors. 
But I did consider he was in a place wherein 
he might do much good to the people of 
God, and I thought by marrying of him I 
might be an instrument in God's hand to 
move him to do more for God, and for the 
good of his people. As for estate, I did 
not need to stand upon that, for I knew 
that if God should give me any children by 
him, I should bring something for to main- 
tain them, and if God should not give me 
any, I had rather he that was to be my 
husband, and his children should enjoy my 
estate than any other. If ever a marriage 
was a fruit of prayer, I think ours was ; for 
I found that after I had laid my condition 
before God, and did beg of Him to chuse 
such a man that might be for His honor 
and glory and my good, then I went 
away from the house I then did live in, to 



SIR BULSTRODE IS ACCEPTED. 49 



a friend's house forty miles from my own 
house, to see if I could be quiet from all 
such motions. But God sent him that should 
be my husband quickly after me, though at 
that time I had no mind to marry him, yet 
I was willing to do or to suffer anything 
whatever was the will of God to have me 
to do. I must needs say all that knew the 
gentleman did give me a very good report 
of him for a very honest, gallant gentle- 
man. When all my friends did see I would 
have him for my husband, they were much 
discontented, thinking thereby I should lose 
much of earthly contentment ; but those who 
wait upon God, they shall not wait in vain. 
Nay, He hath proclaimed himself to be a 
God hearing prayers, and He has com- 
manded us to pray unto Him." 

So it ultimately came to pass that Mary 
Wilson, on September n, 1650, at St. 
Augustine's Church, Hackney, became Mary 

E 



50 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Whitelocke, the third wife of Sir Bul- 
strode. 

" And God did hear my prayers," her 
diary proceeds, " and did bless our mar- 
riage, for he did give me a great mercy in 
my husband, and God did bless me. And 
I did beg of God very much in the time I 
was so long without any child, that if ever 
He would give me a child, He would be 
pleased to make it His child ; and I did 
promise to God, that if ever He should give 
me a child, I would do what lay in my 
power to bring him up in the fear of the 
Lord, and to dedicate him to His service. 
So God at last, after sixteen years' waiting 
and praying, did give me hope of a child, 
which was wonderfully preserved, though I 
had a very great and dangerous fall from 
off my horse, so that all who were then 
present did think my life was in danger. 
I was so very ill with the bruise I got in 



MARY WILSON MARRIES SIR BULSTRODE. 51 



my fall, that none could think I should 
escape miscarrying ; but what God will have 
saved, nothing can hurt or destroy. This 
I set down, that you, my dear son, may 
see what God did for you before you were 
born, so that it may be the stronger en- 
gagement upon your heart to love and serve 
that God, who did keep you from harm 
even in your mother's womb. And I called 
your name Samuel, because I had begged 
you of the Lord. The Lord make you a 
true Samuel indeed, and I have great hopes 
the Lord will make you so."* 

These extracts are made from a diary 
written for her eldest son, and they furnish 
a charming story of life. 

* " Memoirs of Sir Eulstrcde." 



CHAPTER IV. 



Sir Bulstrode appointed Ambassador to Sweden— He goes to 
Cople — Visits George Cokayn's Father — Meets with George 
— Their Conversation — Sir Bulstrode accepts the Mission — 
Removes his Wife and Family to Samuel "Wilson's House — 
Attends Pancras Church — Service at Wilson's Residence — 
Farewell Ceremony at Whitehall — Cokayn preaches — The 
Ambassador and his Wife — Their parting Conversation — 
The Fleet detained in the River — Prayers at Pancras for 
Mary Whitelocke — The Birth of another Son — News sent 
to Sir Bulstrode — The Swedish Ladies learn the English 
mode of Kissing — Cromwell assumes the Protectorship — 
Cokayn's Letters to Sir Bulstrode. 



HEN Samuel was a babe of eighteen 



months, there fell a sore trouble upon 
Mary, his mother. This was the appoint- 
ment of her husband as Ambassador to the 
Queen of Sweden, with whom Cromwell was 
anxious to negotiate a treaty. England was 
threatened with an armed combination 




against her, and it was hoped by the em- 



SIR BULSTRODE AMBASSADOR. 53 



bassage to prevent Sweden from uniting 
with the Dutch. There was another reason 
why Cromwell desired to get rid of Sir 
Bulstrode, and that was his avowed hostility 
to Cromwell assuming kingly powers. The 
embassy was pressed upon Sir Bulstrode 
with such vehemence, that he was obliged 
to accept the duty. Negotiations were carried 
on by letter and by personal interviews. Sir 
Bulstrode' s chief objection was the state of 
his wife's health. Before the business was 
finally settled, the knight went into Bed- 
fordshire, where — a mutilated MS. diary now 
in the British Museum* states — he slept at 
the house of Mr. John Cokayn. At that 
time his host's son George was on a visit 
home, and Sir Bulstrode consulted him upon 
the proposals made with respect to the 
embassage. At the bottom of one page 
he writes, "Mr. George Cokayn, eldest son 

* Whitelocke's MS. " History of the Year 1653." 



54 



THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



to the gentleman where I lay — ; " there the 
sentence now ends ; the succeeding leaf of 
the MS. is missing. From the portion that 
remains, it appears that upon this occasion 
Sir Bulstrode entrusted Cokayn with the 
care of his family in the event of his going 
to Sweden. There is a fragment of some 
conversation with Cokayn given thus : " — to 
be careful of my business in case I shall 
go, and to obey my wife's commands in my 
absence. Cokayn : I shall be faithful to 
you, by the help of God, and careful to obey 
the commands of my lady and mistress. 
Much other plain discourse they had about 
his country affairs, wherein he was more 
skilled, but rational and honest in all, and 
very loving to Whitelocke and to his wife 
and children, and it growing late and after 
a journey, they were willing to go to rest."* 
The next day Sir Bulstrode wrote down 

* Whitelocke always speaks of himself in the third person. 



THE MISSION ACCEPTED. 



55 



his final propositions, and sent them to the 
President of the Council. After a consider- 
able amount of discussion, the details were 
settled. Sir Bulstrode was to have a large 
sum of money for his expenses, and a retinue 
numbering one hundred persons in all, in- 
cluding a doctor and two chaplains. On 
his return from the country, Sir Bulstrode 
and his wife paid a visit to " old Mr. Row- 
land Wilson,"* so that his daughter-in-law's 
marriage had not been disapproved by him. 
Sir Bulstrode then removed his wife and 
some of his children to the house of Mr. 
Samuel Wilson, his brother-in-law. The 
Ambassador had a double object in view. 
He wanted to be nearer to the City while 
the preparations were going on for his 
journey, and to have his wife, who was ex- 
pecting an illness, settled in the house of 
her sister before he went away. He assigned 

* The MS. Diary. 



56 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



to different friends certain offices during his ab- 
sence ; and under date October 18, 1653, there 
appears the following entry in his journal :* 
" For private letters he chiefly desired his 
old friends, Mr. Hall and Mr. Cokayn, now 
living in his house, and well acquainted with 
the army, and with many in power, to receive 
and answer such letters, and Mr, Cokayn 
constantly to send to him and to act for his 
affairs here as there might be occasion." A 
portion of his family only was removed to the 
City, and Cokayn had charge of the re- 
mainder in Sir Bulstrode's house at Chelsea. 
This must have been a pleasant change for 
Cokayn from his residence in Soper Lane. 
The journey of the new Ambassador caused 
immense excitement amongst the worshippers 
at Pancras, and throughout the City and 
kingdom generally. Certain entries in his 
diary show how the journey was regarded 

* "Journal of the Swedish Embassy." 



ATTENDS SERVICE AT PANCRAS. 



57 



by Sir Bulstrode. Under date October 23rd 
he writes:* "This Lord's day was at Mr. 
Cokayn's church, where was a Christian 
mention and recommendation of me in 
prayers to God that He would be a protec- 
tion and blessing to me in my journey." 
The occasion of this visit drew together a 
large congregation. Every corner of the 
old church was occupied. Officers in the 
army and officers of the Ambassador's fleet 
mingled with the City magnates and official 
members of Sir Bulstrode's private retinue. 
The sermon was one specially prepared for 
the occasion ; but Sir Bulstrode notes only 
the Christian mention of him in prayer. It 
was not in public only these services were 
held. A memorable scene took place about 
this time in the residence of Samuel Wilson, 
in order that Sir Bulstrode's wife might, 
without much inconvenience, be present. 

* " Journal of the Swedish Embassy." 



58 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



This was a sort of family service, to which 
only a few special friends were invited. 
" Besides his private and particular seeking 
of God for his counsel and blessing in this 
undertaking," says Sir Bulstrode, "he had 
the prayers of his friends with him : divers 
of them met in the evening at his brother 
Wilson's house, several members of Mr. 
Cokayn's church, and among them Mr. 
Taylor expounded a place of Scripture very 
pertinently, and several of them prayed very 
fondly for Whitelocke and the good success 
of his business, and divers expounded places 
of Scripture suitable for the occasion. White- 
locke' s wife was present, full of grief, trouble, 
and passion."* Whitelocke himself spoke to 
the company to this effect : " Let me and 
mine be remembered in your prayers." Then 
adds Sir Bulstrode, " Mr. Cokayn concluded 
with very pathetical and affectionate prayers 

* " October 25, Journal of the Swedish Embassy." 



FAREWELL CEREMONY AT WHITEHALL. 59 



to God on Whitelocke's behalf, very suitable 
and pertinent to the occasion, and then, it 
being late, they parted with all love and 
hearty expressions of good wishes to him." 
This scene is sketched with graphic power: 
the members of the household meeting to- 
gether for prayer and dedication of each 
other to God; those sons who are going 
with their father elated with joy, but his 
wife " full of grief" — the sympathy of 
friends and relatives falling alike unheeded 
upon her heart ; her sobs breaking forth in 
the midst of the prayers. Four days after 
this there was another farewell service of 
a more ceremonial character in the chapel 
at Whitehall, at which all the members of 
the embassy were present. Sir Bulstrode 
explains that they met together to " seek 
God for His protection and blessing on 
them in their intended journey. Mr. Co- 
kayn, Mr. Hugh Peters, and Mr. Ingelo, 



6o THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



one of the chaplains of the suite, prayed 
and expounded several texts of Scripture, 
giving good exhortations to all the company 
with great fervency, and pertinent to the 
occasion, so that many affirmed they never 
were at any meeting of the like nature 
which appeared more spiritual and comfort- 
able to their souls."* 

The MS. Diary, of which mention has 
already been made, contains references to 
conversations with his wife, who cherished 
hopes to the last moment that the mission 
might be abandoned. She was left with 
ten children during his absence, and refer- 
ring to them Sir Bulstrode says, " Most of 
them are little ones, adding tears and sorrow 
to their comfortless mother." In their con^ 
versations she calls him " My dearest love," 
and he addresses her as " Sweet-heart." "By 
all her tears, by all loves, by the pledges of 

* The MS. " History of the Year 1653." 



PARTING OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. 6l 



them, by marriage promises and affections/' 
she conjured him not to leave her. But it 
was too late : he had pledged his word, and 
must undertake the mission. Then says 
Mary Whitelocke, " If you must go, though 
I cannot go with you, yet my prayers shall 
go with you, that the Lord would preserve 
you and bring you back again in safety; 
and when you shall return (as I hope you 
will), if you find me gone, gone out of this 
world, this vale of tears and sorrow, yet re- 
member me as a faithful wife, as one that truly 
loved you and yours ; and remember these 
little ones, be kind to them for my sake, 
and for their own sakes, who (I hope) will 
never offend you, nor be undutiful to you. 
This is the last request I make to you, and 
I hope my prayers will be heard for you." 
Floods of tears stopped their further speak- 
ing, and the company called upon White- 
locke " to hasten away, telling him that the 



6 2 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



tide would stay for no man." He had no 
sooner descended to the room where some 
of his people were waiting for him, than a 
servant ran down - stairs and begged that 
he would see his wife once more, as she 
had forgotten to say one sentence. This 
was the message which she delivered amid 
tears : " Make it your chiefest care to honor 
God in all your actions, and to watch over 
yourself and all your company, that none 
of you dishonor Him. And often pray to 
Him for His blessing upon you and them, 
and on us whom you leave behind, which 
will be the best way to enlarge our hopes 
of a happy meeting again." As he turned 
to leave the room, she said, "The Lord go 
along with you in all your way. 5 ' This was 
a noble sentence with which to part. Sir 
Bulstrode embarked at the Tower in a small 
boat, which carried him to the frigate Phcentx. 
When they reached Gravesend, the wind 



PRAYERS FOR MARY WHITELOCKE. 63 



was contrary, and the ships had to cast 
anchor ; and Sir Bulstrode, taking advantage 
of the delay, returned to London, for the 
purpose of interchanging once more a tender 
farewell with his wife. Then he hastened, 
under cover of the darkness, back again, and 
the fleet sailed. But when they got to the 
mouth of the river, a great storm of wind 
arose, and the fleet was obliged to cast anchor 
once more. This was upon Sunday. When 
the time came for evening service at Pan- 
eras, Cokayn called upon the congregation 
to join him in special prayer for a certain 
lady ; and, before the service ended, he 
announced that God had heard their prayers, 
and another son* had been given to Mary 
Wilson Whitelocke. This event caused a 
strange bustle in the house of Samuel Wil- 
son. He and Cokayn wrote letters to Sir 

* This was Carlton, the second of three sons she bore her 
husband. 



64 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Bulstrode, and despatched them by swift 
messengers to Gravesend. On arriving there, 
they lighted huge bonfires on the shore to 
attract the attention of the mariners. After 
a time, a boat put off from the Phcentx, and 
brought away the men ; and the letters were 
taken to the Ambassador's cabin. He was 
suffering from sea -sickness at the time — 
nevertheless he was overjoyed at the intelli- 
gence sent him. There is this entry respect- 
ing the letters in his journal : — " His wife 
was brought to bed about six o'clock on the 
Lord's day, in the evening, at which very 
hour the congregation whereof she was a 
member were in prayer together, and seeking 
God for her safe delivery ; and then this 
gracious return to their prayers was vouch- 
safed." He wrote answers while in his bed ; 
and then, to the amazement of all, " the wind 
came to again very fair for him to proceed 
on his voyage." 



JOURNEY AND ARRIVAL. 



65 



The journey was one of great danger at 
that particular time. He not only ran the 
risk of being captured by the Dutch, but he 
was liable to the danger of assassination ; 
and upon his return an attempt was actually 
made to poison him, before he finally set 
sail for England. His adventures on sea 
and land were duly set forth in a diary, 
one copy of which is in the British Museum. 
One incident in his Court-life was exceed- 
ingly novel. The Queen of Sweden* asked 
him to teach her ladies of honour the English 
mode of kissing ; and Sir Bulstrode did so, 
"most readily," to the infinite satisfaction of 
the Court ladies. 

During his absence, which lasted several 
months, Cokayn fulfilled the share of duty 
allotted him in a very faithful manner. He 
became an immense favourite with Sir Bul- 
strode* s children ; he won the esteem of all 

* From the Queen he received the honour of knighthood. 
F 



66 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



the dependents in the great house at Chelsea ; 
and lost no opportunity of representing his 
patron's interest at Whitehall. The allusions 
made by Sir Bulstrode to Cokayn's acquaint- 
ance with men of eminence in politics and 
in learning, indicate him as one of the 
acknowledged leaders amongst the Indepen- 
dents. Mrs. Whitelocke, as soon as she was 
able to undertake the journey, returned to 
Chelsea and to work amongst her little army 
of adopted children. Amongst the fair Puri- 
tan women of that age, none can excel her 
in devotion or love. Calmly and prayer- 
fully dedicating herself to the great labour 
of fashioning the hearts and souls of that 
"quiver-full" which her husband brought 
her by marriage, her name deserves to be 
recorded amongst the noblest women of her 
time. 

Cromwell was appointed Protector during 
the absence of Sir Bulstrode, and intelli- 



CROMWELL THE PROTECTOR. 67 



gence of this was duly forwarded to Sweden. 
There are fragments in existence of three 
letters which Cokayn wrote to the great 
Ambassador in April, 1654, which are very 
characteristic. The first is dated April 2, 
and is as follows : — 

" You will have leave from his Highness 
to come away, and I hope it will not be 
without bringing your business to a happy 
and an honourable issue, which is the con- 
stant subject of our requests to the Lord for 
you, and I doubt not we shall have a com- 
fortable answer. In the meantime I think 
[as I have hinted to your Excellence in former 
letters] it will not be amiss if you draw a 
good store of bills upon us, though but pro 
form a, that we may get as much money for 
you as we can before your return, and that 
you may have a sufficient overplus to pay 
all sen-ants' wages off, which I believe will 



68 THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



amount to a considerable sum ; and, upon 
this peace, I hope it will be no hard matter 
to get your bills paid, especially if your 
Excellence please withal to write to my Lord 
Protector, and Mr. Thurloe, and some of 
the Council about it. I could wish that you 
would make what haste you can home ; for I 
am informed, by a special hand, that there 
is great labouring to make a chancellor, 
Avhilst you are absent, and to take that oppor- 
tunity to put you by, whom I believe they 
doubt to be too much a Christian and an 
Englishman to trust in their service ; but 
I hope God will give you a heart to submit 
to His will, and to prize a good conscience 
above all the world ; which will, indeed, stand 
us in stead, when all outward things cannot 
in the least administer to us. 

" Your Excellency's most humble Servant, 

" Geo. Cokayn." 



COKAYN TO SIR BULSTRODE. 



69 



There is a striking mixture in that letter 
of faith in God, and little trust in any man. 
In every department of the State there was 
a lack of money ; and the suggestion that 
Sir Bulstrode should draw largely upon his 
salary, and leave his agents to dun the 
Council, was eminently practical. 

The second letter referred to a point he 
had already touched upon, and both letters 
show the insecure tenure by which office 
was held, even in Cromwell's time. 

" Mr. Thurloe," he writes, " was pleased 
to acquaint me that it was his Highness' s 
and the Council's pleasure to make some 
alteration in the Chancery ; that it was de- 
termined that your lordship, and Sir Thomas 
Widdrington, and my Lord LTsle, should 
have the custody of the Great Seal, and I 
believe an Act to that purpose will pass 
within few hours ; but I perceive this busi- 
ness was not done without some tugging. 



70 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



But my Lord Protector and John Thurloe* 
are true to you ; and now I am out of all 
fears that any affront should be ordered you 
in your absence. Mr. Mackworth deserves 
a letter from you ; but nothing, I pray, of 
this business. Indeed, Mr. Thurloe hath 
played his part gallantly, and like a true 
friend, for which I shall love him as long 
as I live." 

Cokayn was so absorbed in Sir Bulstrode's 
business, that he accepted a kindness done 
for his patron as if it were done for himself. 
The third letter is dated April 14, 1654 : — 
"Your old servant Abel is much courted 
by his Highness to be his falconer-in-chief, 
but he will not accept it, except your Excel- 
lence had been here to give him your explicit 
leave to serve his Highness ; and told me, 
without stuttering, that he would not serve 
the greatest prince in the world, except your 

* John Thurloe, Secretary of State. 



COKAYN TO SIR. BULSTRODE. JL 



Excellence were present to make the bar- 
gain ; that he might wait upon you, with a 
cast of hawks, at the beginning of Septem- 
ber, every year, into Bedfordshire. It is a 
pity that gallantry should hurt any; cer- 
tainly it is a noble profession that inspires 
him with such a spirit." 

Abel must have been a noted falconer to 
have attracted Cromwell's attention ; but 
the faithful fellow preferred his old master 
to the " greatest prince in the world." 



CHAPTER V. 



Sir Bulstrode's Return — Honours conferred upon him — Cokayn 
brings Sir Bulstrode's Sons from Cople — Mrs. George Cokayn 
— Their Children — Lord Mayor Tichborne — Cokayn's Sermon 
on Colonel Underwood — Prophetic character of the Discourse 
— Declares a Revolution at hand — Fulfilment of his Prophecy 
— Death of Cromwell — Accession of Charles II. — Welcome 
by the Ministers — Sir John Ireton, Sir Robert Tichborne, 
and Jacob Willett are apprehended — Speech of Tichborne on 
his Trial — Sentenced to Imprisonment for Life — Ireton and 
Willett are released — Sir Bulstrode purchases his Pardon for 
£50,000 — Retires to Chilton Lodge. 



N his voyage home Sir Bulstrode had 



a narrow escape from shipwreck ; and 
on arriving at Gravesend, he drove straight 
to Chelsea, to see his wife and child. The 
mission had been satisfactorily accomplished; 
and ten days after his return he was elected 
to Parliament for the city of Oxford, the 
borough of Bedford, and the county of Buck- 




SIR BULSTRODE RETURNS. 



73 



ingham. Honours of every kind flowed in 
upon him, for the successful accomplishment 
of his mission. 

In May, 1656, a trifling domestic incident 
furnishes another glimpse of Cokayn. Sir 
Bulstrode is again the medium of our know- 
ledge. In his personal memorials, under the 
date mentioned, is the following entry : 

"My sons, Willoughby and Bulstrode, 
being brought from Grandon by reason of 
their schoolmaster's death, Mr. Shelborne, who 
was'a very honest good man, and an excellent 
schoolmaster, by whose death I and my family 
have a great loss, I caused the boys to be 
brought from school to Mrs. Cokayn's house, 
in Bedfordshire, being but twenty miles from 
Grandon. I thought it not good to remove 
them further, because Bulstrode had then an 
ague, and the ways were bad. But I thank 
God his ague left him at Mrs. Cokayn's, and 
I purposed to have gone down there this 



74 THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



month to have seen the land in Northampton- 
shire, and to have brought up my boys to 
London, but the treaty with the Swedish Am- 
bassador hindered me. Mr. George Cokayn 
and his wife went into Bedfordshire and 
brought up the boys with them two days 
before Whitsuntide, to Chelsea, where they 
were with me the Whitsun week, I thank 
God, in good health ; and the same time I had 
with me in my house twelve of my children 
all together, for which mercy and comfort I 
pray God to make me thankful, and to give 
his grace and blessing to all my children that 
they may be instrumental to do Him service. 
The boys were very wild, by reason of their 
long being from school." 

This is the second reference made by Sir 
Bulstrode to George Cokayn, and Bedford- 
shire ; and the mention of Mrs. Cokayn only, 
would lead to the inference that at that time 
his father was dead. In the same casual way 



MRS. GEORGE COKAYN. 



75 



mention is made of Mrs. George Cokayn for 
the first time ; and once more she is named, 
many years afterwards, in the will of Sir 
Bulstrode. Her Christian name was Abigail, 
and she was the daughter of Mr. Plott. 
Beyond that we know nothing of her per- 
sonally. Three children were born to them, 
John, William, and Elizabeth. They must 
have lived happily together, or the fact would 
have been preserved somewhere. In all 
probability she was a true helpmate for him ; 
partaking of the same fiery spirit which 
animated him throughout his life, and doing 
whatever work fell within the scope of a 
gentle Christian woman in those days. 

In 1656,* Robert Tichborne, after having 
been knighted by Cromwell, was appointed 
Lord Mayor of London ; and throughout the 
year of his office Pancras became once more, 

* Wilson, in his "Dissenting Churches," mentions a tradi- 
tion that Tichborne occasionally preached. 



76 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



as it had often been before, the church to 
which all the great civic potentates gravi- 
tated. But his year of office brought him no 
release from the burden which his conscience 
bore ; and of all the members of Cokayn's 
congregation, Sir Robert must have excited 
in his breast the most tender sympathy. The 
trial of the knight's penitence had not then 
arrived ; and during his mayoralty he passed 
amongst the people as one of the happiest of 
men because of the high office which he filled. 
He was succeeded by Sir John Ireton, 
another Lord Mayor knighted by Cromwell, 
and member, as we have already mentioned, 
of the Pancras congregation. He had risen 
gradually to the honourable office which he 
held amongst the citizens ; but he never occu- 
pied a conspicuous position. John Moore, 
who was afterwards knighted by Charles II., 
was at this period an active member of the 
Church ; but he had not made much progress 



LORD MAYOR TICHBORNE. 



77 



amongst those of his fellow-citizens who were 
ambitious of civic honours. The fact that two 
members of the congregation attained the 
high dignity of Lord Mayor, attests the posi- 
tion which Pancras held under Cokayn in the 
time of Cromwell. Whatever may have been 
the rank her congregation took in former 
years, through Cokayn she rose to greatest 
celebrity, and when he went out, the church 
fell into rapid decay. No successor, if one 
was ever appointed, drew a congregation, and 
the parish was added to a neighbouring one 
after the Great Fire. 

The last ministerial act, of which there is 
any record, prior to the ejectment of Cokayn, 
was his preaching a funeral sermon on 
Colonel William Underwood, in Stephen's, 
Walbrook, January, 1658.* Nothing is known 
about him now, and the sermon says very 
little. He was an alderman of the City, and 

* Old style; January, 1659, new style of reckoning. 



?3 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



a man of eminence in the Church. No sketch 
of his life is furnished by the sermon, which 
the preacher expressly warrants, because of 
the dislike which the deceased had of any- 
thing approaching to a panegyric on the 
death of a good man. In the closing sen- 
tences of the discourse, this reference is made 
to him : " He that is now with God, whose 
dust you here mourn over, was a prince, 
indeed, in the best sense, a prince that had 
power with God and prevailed. A great man 
he was, because a good man, a man of a 
large heart and affections toward God and 
towards His house." Many eminent men had 
died in the previous two years ; and the 
sermon, read now by the light of subsequent 
events, appears prophetic. The text was, 
" The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth 
it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, 
none considering that the righteous is taken 
away from the evil- to come." He dwells 



cokayn's sermon on col. underwood. 79 



most emphatically upon the latter portion of 
the text ; that the deaths of so many righteous 
men was a certain indication of impending 
evil. One or two passages will serve to indi- 
cate the character of the discourse. " Oh ! 
consider, consider, it is a present evil to be 
deprived of these men, but that which it bodes 
is far greater ; it is a certain and true prog- 
nostication of some sad, dismal revolution 
at hand." " Do you see God make haste to 
gather his people apace into rest : be assured 
that the destroying angel is upon the wing, 
ready to execute his commission upon the 
world." " Woe to that nation or city, from 
the midst of whom the Lord takes away his 
own precious servants. I must, upon this 
account, proclaim the vengeance of the Lord 
against England and London ; though there 
were no other concurrent signs, yet this one, 
viz., the Lord's removing so fast his people 
by death, betokens the succession of a black 



§0 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



and gloomy day. Oh ! surely the plucking 
up the stakes doth plainly foretell the hedge 
will not stand long." Within eight months 
from the delivery of that sermon Oliver Crom- 
well died ; and#troubles came upon the godly 
like a flood. Ministers were ejected from their 
livings, — Cokayn was one of the first to suffer 
in that way; lying informers dogged godly men 
and women about the streets ; and every gaol 
in London was filled with God-serving people : 
and in such events as those Cokayn saw the 
realisation of all he foretold when he preached 
upon the death of Colonel Underwood. On the 
title-page of the sermon, Cokayn styles him- 
self " unworthy " minister of Pancras. Only 
nine years had elapsed since he preached the 
sermon before the House of Commons, one of 
the heralds of the Fifth-Monarchy, and all his 
hopes had faded. They were further off from 
the setting up of the kingdom of Jesus Christ 
than he imagined. The little world of London 



DEATH OF CROMWELL. 8l 



had not acknowledged King Jesus ; Chris- 
tianity had not been inwrought with the social 
life of the nation ; the Church was full of con- 
fusion ; the army was as restless as ever ; 
parliament after parliament was dissolved 
without having accomplished any good work ; 
there were rumours of wars on every hand ; 
and those sects for which he so earnestly 
pleaded, had abused the liberty of conscience 
which they had enjoyed. In such a time as this 
died Oliver Cromwell. Confusion followed. 
Then King Charles II. came over to England; 
his lips full of protestations about religion and 
religious freedom, but deceit in his heart. He 
was welcomed with the most extraordinary 
demonstrations of joy by the major portion 
of the nation. In London, Maypoles were 
erected in the principal streets, and decked 
with ribbons and flowers. Bonfires were 
lighted in the streets at night; and for several 
days, the fronts of the picturesque timber 
G- 



82 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



houses were decorated with tapestry and 
coloured cloths, and the streets were fes- 
tooned with strings of flowers. Amongst 
those who welcomed him to London, relying 
upon his promises, were the ministers : and 
to one petition the name of George Cokayn 
was appended. The accession of the king 
was followed by the immediate downfall of 
Independency ; and Presbyterianism recom- 
menced her struggle with Episcopacy for 
the place of power. 

Keeping strictly within the limits of our 
story, we now have to follow the fortunes 
and misfortunes of such members of the 
congregation as we have become acquainted 
with. Sir John Ireton, who served the office 
of Sheriff in 1651, became Lord Mayor in 
1658, having succeeded in the chief office 
Sir Robert Tichborne. Those two, together 
with Jacob Willett, were amongst the first 
apprehended ; but through some bungling 



APPREHENSIONS. 



33 



their warrants were cancelled, and they were 
again set at liberty. Subsequently, early in 
the month of May, 1660, Sir Robert Tich- 
borne, as one of the king's judges, surrendered 
himself, under a proclamation which was 
issued, and spent the remainder of a long 
life in prison. Upon his trial at the Old 
Bailey, October 16, he made a speech which 
lays bare his character and enables us to form 
the best judgment of him. " My lord," he 
said to the Chief Baron, "when I first pleaded 
to the indictment it was 'not guilty in manner 
and form as I stood indicted/ My lord, it was 
not then in my heart either to deny or justify 
any tittle of the matter of fact. My lord, the 
matter that I was led into by ignorance my 
conscience leads me to acknowledge. Yet, 
my lord, if I should have said guilty in 
manner and form as I stood indicted, I was 
fearful I should have charged my own con- 
science as then knowingly and maliciously to 



8 4 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



act it. My lord, it was my unhappiness to be 
called to so sad a work when I had so few 
years over my head, a person neither bred up 
in the laws nor in parliaments where laws 
are made. I can say with a clear conscience 
I had no more enmity in my heart to his 
Majesty than I did to my wife that lay in my 
bosom. My lord, I shall deny nothing. After 
I was summoned I think truly I was at most 
of the meetings, and I do also say this, that 
I did not intend to say it before to preserve 
that salvo to my own conscience that I did 
not maliciously and knowingly do it. I think 
I am bound in conscience to own it. As I do 
not deny but I was there, so truly I do 
believe I did sign the instrument ; and had 
I known then what I do now (I do not mean, 
my lord, my afflictions and sufferings, it is 
not my sufferings make me acknowledge), I 
would have chosen a red-hot oven to go into 
as soon as that meeting. I bless God, I do 



TICHBORNE ON HIS TRIAL. 



S5 



this neither out of fear, or hope of favour ; 
though the penalty that may attend this 
acknowledgment may be grievous. My lord, 
I do acknowledge the matter of fact, and do 
solemnly protest I was led into it for want of 
years. I do not justify either the act or the 
person. I was so unhappy then as to be 
ignorant, and I hope shall not now (since I 
have more light) justify that which I was 
ignorant of. I am sure my heart was with- 
out malice. If I had been only asked in 
matter of fact at first, I should have said 
the same. I have seen a little. The great 
God before whom we all stand, hath shown 
his tender mercy to persons upon repentance. 
Paul tells us, though a blasphemer and per- 
secutor of Christ, it being done ignorantly, 
upon repentance he found mercy. My lord, 
mercy I have found, and I do not doubt 
but mercy I shall find. My lord, I came in 
upon the proclamation, and now I am here. 



86 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



I have in truth given your lordship a clear 
and full account, whatever the law shall pro- 
nounce, because I was ignorant, yet I hope 
there will be room found for that mercy and 
grace that I think was intended by the pro- 
clamation, and I hope by the parliament of 
England. I shall say no more of that, humbly 
begging that your lordship will be instru- 
mental to the king and parliament on that 
behalf." 

The Counsel. — " We shall give no evidence 
against the prisoner. * He says he did it 
ignorantly, and I hope, and do believe, he 
is penitent, and as far as the parliament 
thinks fit to show mercy, shall be very glad." 

At a subsequent time, when the Lord Chief 
Baron was summing up the case against 
several of the prisoners, he alluded to 
the speech and case of Tichborne in these 
terms : " As for Robert Tichborne he hath 
spoken very fully ; and truly very conscien- 



IS IMPRISONED FOR LIFE. 



8? 



tiously Upon the whole matter, he 

acknowledges his ignorance, his sorrow, his 
conviction in point of conscience ; and I 
beseech God Almighty to incline his heart 
more and more to repentance. They that 
crucified Christ (to use his own words) through 
ignorance, found mercy." 

Tichborne was ultimately ordered to be 
imprisoned for life. Sir John Ireton, after 
his release from the informal arrest, escaped 
further molestation for a short time. Jacob 
Willett was not afterwards apprehended ; 
and the cause of his arrest in the first in- 
stance is not mentioned. He was an eminent 
citizen, and that is all which is now known 
of him. Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke was, upon 
petition, excepted from the penalty of death, 
and commuted what was termed his treason- 
able connection with the previous govern- 
ment upon payment of ^50,000. This enor- 
mous sum was raised by the sale of a portion 



88 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



of his estates, and the mortgage of the 
remainder. When he presented the money 
to the king, his Majesty handed him a par- 
don engrossed upon parchment, which is still 
in existence. Sir Bulstrode, after this, retired 
from public life, and spent the remainder of 
his days with Mary his wife and their family, 
at Chilton Lodge, Wiltshire. 



SIR RULSTRODE WHITELOCKE. 
JEtat. 28. 

From a Painting the property of George Whitelocke Lloyd, Esq. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Passing of the Ministers' Bill — Ejectment of Cokayn — Calamy's 
Statement — Persecution of the Godly — John Bunyan in 
Prison — Cokayn preaches in the City Churches — Fanatics — 
Venner's Insurrection — Public Worship restrained — Spies 
and Informers — Birth of John Nesbitt— Information sworn 
against Cokayn, October, 1661 — Second Information in 
December — Mrs. Tichborne — Her Husband's Estate divided 
amongst Courtiers and others — His Removal to the Scilly 
Isles — Anne Tichborne sends a Servant to her Husband — 
Petitions for his return to England — Sir Robert is brought to 
Dover Castle — His "Wife shares his Imprisonment — The 
Prisoner is removed to the Tower — Fellow Prisoners — His 
Death in 1682. 



HILE the trial of the regicides was 



proceeding, Parliament was busily 
employed with the new settlement of reli- 
gion. A Ministers' Bill was passed which 
called upon all to submit themselves to re- 
ordination at once. Under the provisions 
of this Bill, Cokayn either voluntarily left, 




9 o 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



or was ejected from the church. It is doubt- 
ful whether a successor was ever appointed, 
and so little interest was felt in the church, 
that after its destruction in the Great Fire, 
it was not rebuilt. 

From the date of Tichborne's arrest, it is 
clear that Calamy was in error when he 
spoke of him as adhering to Cokayn after 
his ejectment. Sir John Ireton could only 
have been a very occasional hearer of him 
also, for several years afterwards, because 
he spent some time in prison soon after the 
Restoration, and when released was in hiding 
for a time. But at the time Calamy wrote, 
the connection of both those men was a tra- 
dition of the church, and with respect to one 
there is indisputable evidence of the correct- 
ness of the statement. Samuel Wilson and 
Sir John Moore were the only two out of 
the four who may be said to have adhered 
to Cokayn after he left Pancras, and that 



EJECTMENT OF COKAYN. 



9 T 



fact will serve to throw considerable light 
upon the subsequent portion of our story. 
The year 1660 was pregnant with misfortune 
for the church ; before it closed, the congre- 
gation was scattered — some of the members 
were in prison ; many plunged into endless 
sorrow ; and the minister was unbeneficed. 
But the Church, though dispersed, was not 
dismembered. Worship in the old form was 
maintained in the houses of the people, and 
George Cokayn went from house to house, 
preaching, with more earnestness than ever, 
his noble sermons upon Duty, and Christ. 
The year that witnessed his ejectment from 
Pancras has since become celebrated as the 
year in which John Bunyan was cast into 
Bedford prison, and their histories were des- 
tined to be so interwoven in the future as 
to become one of the most sacred heritages 
of the Church. 

We now enter upon the most exciting 



9 2 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



period of our history. Persecution invaria- 
bly develops character ; and George Cokayn, 
with all the members of his congregation 
who are known to us, save one only, pass 
through this trying time with unstained 
characters. 

Their lives are disclosed from new sources. 
Hitherto the journals of the House of Com- 
mons, the diaries of statesmen, and funeral 
sermons, have been the sources of our know- 
ledge ; but for the future, the malignant 
statements of informers, as preserved amongst 
the miscellaneous papers of the State ; me- 
moranda in spy-books relating to dangerous 
persons ; returns to Parliament of wilful 
breakers of the law; entries in prison re- 
cords ; broadsheets that were hawked about 
the streets of London two centuries ago ; 
brief references in wills ; and the still briefer 
mention in burial registers, furnish our in- 
formation. But, from whatever source our 



PREACHES IN CITY CHURCHES. 



93 



knowledge is derived, the minister and his 
Church members are always presented doing 
God's work. Neither the malice of man, 
nor the presence of death, turned them from 
their labour. For a time after Cokayn left 
Pancras, he preached in City churches under 
the pastoral care of his friends, and he was 
always welcome. His fame as a preacher 
invariably attracted crowds. Men and wo- 
men of high rank were constant attendants 
upon him. 

But this liberty was not long accorded 
him. The occupants of livings in the time 
of the first Charles petitioned to be re- 
instated in their old churches. Eminent 
men who had been driven out of the Uni- 
versities for their adherence to the late king 
re-appeared. Petitions were poured into the 
House of Lords for a fresh adjustment of 
Church livings, and the king was impor- 
tuned for Church preferments. The vacan- 



94 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



cies created under the Ministers' Act were 
quickly filled up, and every ejected man 
became suspected. Episcopacy over -rode 
Presbyterianism, and all non-adherents to 
fhe Church were dubbed Fanatics. Richard 
Baxter, John Howe, John Goodwin, John 
Owen, George Cokayn, were amongst the 
suspected ; and a host of others of lesser 
note. Measures were discussed for securing 
uniformity in religion before the Fifth-Mo- 
narchists broke out into open rebellion. A 
number of poor men, headed by one Venner, 
who waited for the coming of Christ, took 
up arms in His name, and after a conflict 
with the troops were dispersed. Those cap- 
tured were executed. Advantage was taken 
of this to press forward the most severe mea- 
sures against all Fanatics. Accusations were 
specially directed against the Independents, 
as breeders of rebellion, and the ministers 
of that body drew up a petition disavowing 



venner's insurrection. 



95 



all sympathy with Venner's party. To this 
document George Cokayn attached his sig- 
nature. His tendency to Fifth -Monarchy 
principles was sensualised upon a subsequent 
occasion. What he held was the coming of 
Christ to the spirits of men, but that was 
a doctrine which few comprehended then. 
That petty insurrection in the City was 
made an excuse by the Church party for 
pressing forward a series of the most cruel 
and arbitrary laws against those whose only 
crime was to claim the right of worshipping 
God according to the dictates of conscience. 
The first act in this direction rendered Dis- 
senters incapable of serving in offices of 
trust. Orders to secure uniformity of prayer 
followed, and these were succeeded by an 
order in Council against meetings of Ana- 
baptists, Quakers, or other sectaries. They 
were no longer to meet in large numbers 
or at unusual times ; and they were restricted 



9« 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



in their assemblies to the bounds of their 
own parishes. These orders contained the 
germ of the Conventicle and the Five- 
mile Acts, under the provisions of which 
thousands of godly men and women were 
subjected to the most cruel persecutions. 
Robbed of goods, driven from homes, thrust 
into prisons ; the best, the purest, and the 
noblest were exposed to such persecutions 
as had been unknown since the time of 
Mary. Spies and informers multiplied ra- 
pidly, and the chief officers of State were 
kept in a constant state of alarm by the 
reports of intended risings throughout the 
country. The Quakers were the first to 
suffer, and gaols in London were filled with 
them before members of other sects attracted 
much attention from the spies. In such a 
time as this there was born in Northum- 
berland one John Nesbitt, who was destined 
at an early age to become the occupant of 



INFORMATION AGAINST COKAYN. 97 



a London gaol, and afterwards to succeed 
George Cokayn in the pastorate of Hare- 
court Chapel. When he was an 

" infant, 

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms, 

Cokayn became for the first time the subject 
of an information presented to the Secretary 
of State. The document bears date October 
30, 1 66 1, and is from Mr. Ashmole to Sir 
Edward Nicholas.* He states that Dr. 
Holmes and George Cokayn (the writer of 
the " Book of Prodigies," who is now writing 
a Chronicle), both preachers, have weekly 
meetings at an alehouse in Ivy Lane ; and 
if their studies were searched, papers of con- 
sequence might be found. This document 
is endorsed with a note by Sir E. Nicholas, 
which proves that action was taken upon 
the information, but of what character does 
not appear. Cokayn was probably sum- 

* State Papers, "Domestic," Charles II., vol. xliii., No, 130. 
H 



9§ 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



moned to appear before the Secretary of 
State, and then he made short work of the 
information. He denied either having any- 
thing to do with a "Book of Prodigies" or 
with a Chronicle. Possibly he worked in 
that strange life - text of his ; and the en- 
dorsement on the information adds that 
Cokayn had permission, although not in 
orders, to preach in Dr. Hall's church. 

The reference to a "Book of Prodigies" was 
connected with the appearance of heavenly 
phenomena, which created a serious effect 
in the minds of the vulgar, and were gene- 
rally regarded as betokening evil to the 
king. On the 8th of December Cokayn was 
again mentioned in an information sworn to 
by one Mr. Jessey, who actually affirmed that 
he had been in the habit of visiting Cokayn, 
and had not only written out Prodigies for 
him, but had heard Cokayn relate some. No- 
thing came of this statement at that time. 



MRS. TICH BORNE. 



99 



These are the only facts relating to Cokayn 
which appear in the State Papers for 1 66 1 . 
They prove that at that time he was in 
London, and subsequent references show that 
he continued to reside for a considerable time 
after his severance from Pancras in the mi- 
nister's house, Soper Lane. There was plenty 
of work for him at that period amongst the 
members of his congregation. Mrs. Tich- 
borne was one of the chief objects of his soli- 
citude, and at her house he must have been 
a welcome visitor. As soon as her unfortu- 
nate husband became a prisoner, officers were 
despatched to Noble Street for the purpose 
of carrying away his plate and other property. 
What was obtained is not mentioned, but 
from the number of claimants for a share in 
his property, it must have been considerable. 

One Katherine, wife of Paul Feryn, a 
groom of the robes to the king, received as 
a jointure on her marriage, a debt of ^2000 
L.of C. 



IOO 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



due from Charles I., for perfumery, to her 
father-in-law ; and she petitioned for " the 
lease forfeited by attainder of Alderman 
Tichborne, of Old Court Manor, part of the 
demesne of East Greenwich, with parsonage, 
ballast wharf, &c., on rent of £6 13s. 4^., 
in lieu of"* the debt. In March, 1 66 1, a 
grant was made "to Sir Henry Littleton, 
Bart., of ;£ 1,500 now in the East India 
Company, and other moneys and stock of 
Robert Tichborne, attainted of high trea- 
son."! His wealth was in this manner dis- 
tributed at the whim of the king, but probably 
his family was allowed to retain a portion ; 
and towards Anne Tichborne, his wife, the 
king appears to have acted with much con- 
sideration. After having been confined for 
a period in the Tower, where his wife had 
reasonable access to him, he was removed 

* State Papers, " Charles II.," vol. xx., No. 103. 
f Ibid., "Charles II.," vol. xxxiii. 



tichborne's estates divided. 



IOI 



to a fortress on Holy Island, one of the 
Scilly Isles. Here the change of climate, 
absence of all friends, and possibly an in- 
creased rigour in the character of his impri- 
sonment, brought on an illness. His wife 
received intelligence of his condition, and 
in January, 1663, petitioned the king for 
leave to send a servant to her husband, 
who was then lame and infirm.* There was 
no delay in the response, for in the latter 
part of the same month a dispatch was sent 
to Lord Widdrington, Governor of Holy 
Island, announcing that the king had con- 
sented to allow a servant to wait upon 
Tichborne in prison ; but the governor was 
cautioned to take care that " his Majesty's 
service was not prejudiced thereby." From 
this servant Mrs. Tichborne received com- 
munications concerning her husband, whose 
illness continued to be of a serious charac- 

* State Papers, " Charles II.," vol. lxvii, No. 96. 



102 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



ter. Her former success with the king 
emboldened her, as she next petitioned for 
the removal of her husband to some nearer 
place. This was in 1663, and permission 
was granted for his return home ; but some 
matters of state intervened, and in October 
of the same year Mrs. Tichborne jogged 
the memory of the Secretary of State, and 
urged her suit more vehemently, on the 
ground that her husband's illness had as- 
sumed dangerous proportions.* The neces- 
sary warrants were not made out that winter, 
and on March 4, 1664, Mrs. Tichborne peti- 
tioned again, in a tone of entreaty, " for 
the removal of her husband to some nearer 
place, he being weak and ill, and she un- 
able, on account of the distance, to administer 
the help necessary for preservation of his 
life." Five days afterwards the necessary 
documents were signed and despatched : one 

* State Papers, " Charles II." 



PETITIONS FOR HIS RETURN. 103 



to Sir Robert Collingwood, Governor of Holy 
Island, to deliver up, and the other to John 
Strode, Lieutenant of Dover Castle, to re- 
ceive, Robert Tichborne. The heroic woman 
went to Dover to visit her husband, who 
returned much shattered in health. From 
Dover she petitioned once more, and for the 
last time, so far as the State Papers show. 
The following is the text of her petition : — 

"To the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 
— The humble petition of Anne Tichborne, 
wife of Robert Tichborne, now prisoner in 
Dover Castle, humbly showeth that your 
petitioner doth with all thankfulness acknow- 
ledge your Majesty's grace and favour in 
the removal of her husband from Holy Is- 
land to Dover ; and though his condition be 
much bettered thereby, yet his weaknesses 
and distempers of body that have long been 
upon him, do necessitate your petitioner to 



104 THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



desire your Majesty's further favour. Your 
petitioner therefore humbly prays that your 
Majesty will be graciously pleased to grant 
leave to your petitioner, with two of her chil- 
dren and a maid-servant, to remain in the 
Castle with her husband, that she may be 
helpful to him in his necessitous condition. 
And your petitioner shall ever pray, &c. 

"Anne Tichborne."* 

The requisite permission was granted — 
none of her requests were refused — and 
Lieutenant Strode was directed to permit 
Anne Tichborne, with her two children and 
maid-servant, to see her husband, " and if 
she please to remain shut up with him in 
prison." By the loving care of his wife 
he recovered from that illness. From 1664 
until 1679, a period of fifteen . years, Tich- 
borne remained in Dover Castle, and then 

* State Papers, March, 1664. 



BROUGHT TO DOVER CASTLE. 105 



he was removed to the Tower of London. 
This was probably in consequence of the 
intercession of his devoted wife. When in 
the Tower, he was more accessible to his 
friends, and being a State-prisoner, he en- 
joyed many privileges. His name appears 
amongst the list of prisoners for the* Lady- 
day quarter, 1679, an d amongst his com- 
panions were Lord Powis, Lord Stafford, 
Lord Peters, Lord Bellesize, Lord Arundell, 
and Lord Castlemaine, Sir Henry Tich- 
borne, Messrs. John Carrell, Hooper, sen., 
Hooper, jun., and Ratcliffe. Other noble 
lords, and prisoners of less degree, passed 
out and in, through the historic gates, while 
he was there ; amongst others poor Stephen 
Colledge, to his sham trial and execution 
at Oxford, and the Earl of Shaftesbury was 
for a time prisoned there. Tichborne was 
allowed ^3 13.?. \d. per week, a large 

* Tower Records. 



106 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



sum in those days. How his time was 
spent we may speculate upon, but shall 
never rightly know. He who faced his fate 
with calmness and resolution, fearing his 
conscience more than a prison, was not 
likely to grow rebellious, though the years 
were stretched out. Thoughts of home, of 
wife, of children, of friends ; their freedom 
and sorrow, and his restraint, must have 
sorely tried his heart. In the open squares 
in which he exercised, he was probably per- 
mitted to talk with fellow-prisoners, whose 
lot was more unfortunate than his own. 
From his grated chamber he caught glimpses 
of the country beyond the river, or the fields 
between the Tower and the City. Then on 
visiting days it must have been a solace 
to see his faithful wife and children,* or 

* Mrs. Priscilla Sharp, a granddaughter of Sir Robert 
Tichborne, was a member of the Independent Congregation 
worshipping in Back Street, Horsleydown, in 1764. The 
celebrated John Wilkes was also a descendant of his. 



REMOVED TO THE TOWER. 



107 



talk with his friends. Nineteen years he 
spent in prison before he was brought to 
the Tower, and after three years' more im- 
prisonment he received that acquittance 
which King Charles never bestowed. In 
the Michaelmas quarter of 1682, this entry 
appears in the Tower Records : 

" For safe keeping Mr. Robert Tichborne 
from and for the 25th day of June, 1682, end- 
ing, and for the 27th day of the month of 
June, being three days, at £5 per week ancient 
allowance, and 13s. 4^. present demands ac- 
cording to retrenchment ... 5^. 8^d." 

Close by that piece of grass which was once 
watered by the blood of an English queen, 
stands the Tower church, or, as it is more 
correctly called, the Royal chapel, dedicated 
to St. Peter ad Vincula. In the register 
of this church, under date July 6, 1682, ap- 
pears these words : " Tichborne, Alder- 
man of London/' This is the brief record 



io8 



THE STORY OF 



HARECOURT. 



of the death and burial of Sir Robert Tich- 
borne, one of the judges of Charles L, 
afterwards Lord Mayor of London, and one 
of George Cokayn's friends. 



CHAPTER VII. 



John Ireton — Reference in Pepys — Ireton in the Tower — His 
Illness — Removed to the Scilly Isles — Release — Reported a 
dangerous Fanatic in 1664 — Judgments obtained against him 
by the King — Cokayn's Preaching Stations — The Act of 
Uniformity — Effect produced — Informers appointed in Large 
Towns — Third Information against Cokayn in 1662 — Unifor- 
mity of Religion secured — Sermons from behind Prison Bars 
— Emptiness of the City Churches— A Clerical mistake at 
St. Paul's — Wilson undertakes a Voyage — Is apprehended 
and lodged in Deal Castle — Released and proceeds to New 
England — In Custody again in 1665 — Petitions, and is set at 
Liberty. 



NOTHER family to whom Cokayn was a 



valued adviser, was that of Sir John Ire- 
ton. That title, conferred upon him by Crom- 
well, was never used after the Restoration. 
Pepys, in his " Diary," xnder date December 
1, 1 66 1, mentions Ireton's arrest. He says, 
"There hath lately been great clapping-up 
of some old statesmen, such as Ireton . . . 




no 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



and others, as they say upon a great plot ; 
but I believe no such thing ; but it is but 
justice that they should be served as they 
served the poor Cavaliers ; and I believe 
it will oftentimes be so as long as they live, 
whether there be cause or no/' 

The next references to Ireton are in the 
State Papers, and they furnish the only 
remaining facts that probably exist respect- 
ing him. He was convicted of a charge 
brought against him, and received a sen- 
tence of imprisonment. In February, 1662,* 
Alvaney Pinckney, gentleman-porter of the 
Tower, reported that the indisposition of 
Alderman Ireton was such that he desired 
a warrant to see his wife and a medical 
man. The requisite permission was granted, 
and Mrs. Ireton, Dr. Cox, and a nurse, were 
allowed to have access to him, in presence 
of the keeper, during his indisposition. From 

* State Papers, " Charles II.," vol. iv., No. 19. 



IRETON IN THE TOWER. 



Ill 



that illness he recovered ; and in the summer 
was transported, together with Major John 
Wildman, a prisoner charged with treason, 
to the Scilly Isles. The change was one 
which they both disapproved, according to 
Sir Francis Godolphin, who visited the Isles 
in August. He reported that Sir Arthur 
Bassett governed the garrison well; but the 
two prisoners there, Wildman and Ireton, 
disliked their change from the Tower, but pre- 
tended ignorance of the charges made against 
them, and were in expectation of receiving 
their discharge.* Alderman Ireton was set 
at liberty, and returned to the neighbourhood 
of London, where, in 1664, he was reported 
as one of thirteen dangerous fanatics residing 
at East Sheen. One or more judgments were 
afterwards obtained against him in 1665, 
respecting plate and jewellery claimed on 
behalf of the king. Before this question was 

* State Papers, " Charles II.," vol. iv., No. 42. 



112 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT, 



finally settled, a warrant was issued against 
him for dangerous and seditious practices, but 
he evaded capture ; and in June, 1666, a set- 
tlement was made with respect to the claim 
on behalf of the Crown. From that time he 
passed into oblivion ; but, in the glimpses ob- 
tained of him, there is sufficient to show that 
he occupied a distinguished position in his day, 
and acted his part from a conscientious convic- 
tion, for which he suffered much persecution. 

Apart from the demands made upon 
Cokayn by the distressing circumstances in 
which the families of Tichborne and Ireton 
were placed, he was constantly engaged in 
preaching ; and, from the informations sworn 
against him, proof is furnished that his 
fame and his zeal suffered no deterioration 
after his ejectment. He preached in the 
houses of many City men. Occasionally he 
went into Bedfordshire ; and, while there, 
he preached in a village near his native 
place. In London he held services in the 



cokayn's preaching stations. 113 



house of Mr. Blake, a magistrate who resided 
in Covent Garden, and in the residence of 
Jacob Willett, in St. Laurence Lane. While 
he remained in Soper Lane, religious services 
were constantly held by him ; and, after the 
Restoration, spies watched his door to note 
who went in and out. William Pendle- 
bury and Henry Lyte were both constant 
friends of his, and in their houses no doubt 
he occasionally preached. John Moore was 
another at whose residence he probably held 
religious services. One more remains to be 
mentioned — Chilton Lodge, Hungerford — 
the country retreat of Sir Bulstrode White- 
locke. There Cokayn was a frequent visitor, 
and was always sure of a hearty welcome — 
not only by Sir Bulstrode, but also by Mary 
his wife, and the members of his family. In 
all these houses there were spacious rooms 
in which a large number of people could 
meet with comfort ; and after the Act of Uni- 
I 



114 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



formity and the Five-Mile Act were passed, 
the owners ran less risk of detection than 
would happen in the case of poorer people. 

In 1662 the Act of Uniformity was passed, 
and Bartholomew's-day was chosen as that 
on which the Act was to come in force. For 
several weeks preceding the appointed time, 
farewell sermons were preached by the Non- 
conforming ministers to their congregations. 
There was extraordinary excitement created 
throughout the whole country ; and when the 
day arrived, more than two thousand pulpits 
lacked occupants. Suitable men could not 
be found to fill all the vacant pulpits ; so that 
eminent Conformists were allowed to hold 
more than one living; and in many towns 
the Nonconformists continued to hold reli- 
gious services in the church. This was the 
case at Yarmouth, where thousands of Inde- 
pendents met in direct opposition to the 
Act, until Sir Thomas Meddows " put them 



THE ACT OF UNIFORMITY. 115 



by and locked the doors." * The amount 
of suffering entailed upon the ministers and 
their families can hardly be appreciated ; yet 
not one of them fell into difficulties and debt. 
This fact is as creditable to them as it is 
to the people in whose midst they laboured. 
They settled down in the places where they 
had been accustomed to minister ; and where 
friends proved unable to keep them, they 
performed manual labour during the week 
and preached upon the Sunday. Bishops 
commenced visitations in their respective 
dioceses, and it can hardly be matter of 
rebuke towards them, that many of the new 
clergy turned out to be godless men. This 
Act shook the foundations of civil life, and 
gave birth to a feeling of terror which filled 
the king and his advisers with alarm. From 
all parts of the country reports were for- 
warded to the Secretary of State of rumoured. 

* State Papers, Dec. 14, 1668. 



I 1 6 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



risings; of the meetings of Nonconformists 
in large bodies ; and magistrates filled the 
gaols with the godly of all denominations. 
Spies began to multiply, and a system for 
obtaining secret information was propagated. 
Many holding office under Government, in 
the army, or on the bench, became informers ; 
and tradesmen were selected in certain dis- 
tricts to send information regularly to Court. 
At the close of 1662, Cokayn was again men- 
tioned in an information sent to Sir Henry 
Bennet, who succeeded Sir Edward Nicholas 
as Secretary of State. This was the third 
occasion on which he. was reported. It was 
in connection with John Caitness, whom the 
Government was anxious to capture. Robert 
Johnston, an informer, in describing the 
friends of Caitness, enumerated Mr. Kifhn, 
Cokayn, a minister, and Cornet Billing, a 
Quaker. He said, "This Cokayn and Kiffin 
are two witty-subtled, close-plodding men. I 



THIRD INFORMATION AGAINST COKAYN. 117 



know not where Cokayn lives. There is a 
courtier w T as one of his Church-members, 
but it may be he will not own it now. If 
he can tell where he lives, I know not." 
Mr. Kiffin was a distinguished Baptist 
merchant ; Cornet Billing was a very ec- 
centric man, even for a Quaker ; and Pepys 
relates several characteristic stories about 
him. The Church received a shock at that 
time from which she never recovered ; and 
the persecutions which succeeded only served 
to widen the breach between her and the 
working-people of England. Uniformity of 
religion was secured, but after a manner 
never anticipated. Men and women of every 
religious denomination met in the gaols, and 
there worshipped in common. From the 
streets people looked between iron rails into 
the wards of the prison, and upon Sunday 
the prisoners preached in turn to crowds of 
people, who blocked up the thoroughfares, 



Il8 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



while in the intervals of speech they sang 
the Psalms of David. Upon one occasion a 
magistrate dispersed the crowd with the aid 
of soldiers. Such was the only uniformity 
wrought by the Act. 

In 1663 the emptiness of all the City 
churches was matter of common observation. 
Pepys mentions that upon the anniversary 
of the king's coronation, he called at several 
churches. In some there were hardly ten 
persons, and they were poor people. The 
Book of Common Prayer had then taken its 
accustomed place in the exercise of worship ; 
but the people had forgotten the responses ; 
and the clergy themselves were exposed to 
the satire of the people, for mistakes which it 
was alleged they made concerning the sacred 
name of Jesus. There is a ballad in the 
British Museum which recounts a clerical 
misadventure in St. Paul's on November the 
5th. Two of the verses are as follow: 



TROUBLES OF SAMUEL WILSON. 119 



" But the good doctor, when he came before you 
The sacred Gospel to read, 
At Judas his name (O horrible shame ! ) 
He bowed his reverend head. 

" Some say that his sight (poor man) is not right, 
I wish that it be no worse ; 
But others think he to Judas bow'd the knee 
For love he bears to the purse." 

Towards the close of 1663 Samuel Wilson 
fell into serious trouble. The disorders in 
the City induced him to remove to East 
Greenwich, from whence he was rowed up 
to St. Katharine's Wharf every day in his 
barge. Following upon the ejectment of the 
ministers, trade became disordered. Mer- 
chants lost confidence, and many small 
traders were ruined at this period. Wilson 
undertook a voyage to New England, for 
the purpose of trade ; and also with a view 
to see how the Puritans were getting on in 
their new transatlantic home. He carried 
with him goods valued at ^1,500; and when 
in the Downs the ship was boarded by the 



120 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



king's • officers, who discovered a seditious 
letter wrapped up in a bundle of books, and 
directed to a New England Puritan. For 
this offence the vessel was stopped, and 
Wilson carried a prisoner to Deal Castle.* 
The letter is one that has been often quoted 
as containing a description of the state of 
affairs in England. It was written by a 
well-known minister, William Hooke, but to 
whom it was addressed is not known. After 
remaining in custody for a short time Wil- 
son was released, upon giving a bond for his 
future good conduct. He was absent from 
April, 1663, until some time in the autumn of 
1 665 ; and his visit to New England must 
have been a source of great satisfaction to 
himself and also to those he visited. During 
his absence a complaint was made against 
him to the king by a company of merchants 
trading with the Canary Isles, with whom 

* State Papers, 1663. 



TROUBLES OF SAMUEL WILSON. 



121 



Wilson had refused to enter into partner- 
ship, because they wanted a larger share of 
the trading profits than he was willing to 
concede, he having previously established a 
trade there. The inhabitants preferred trad- 
ing with Wilson ; and the company's factors 
interfering, a riot ensued. Upon the com- 
plaint reaching the king, a warrant was 
at once issued against Wilson, which was 
executed in November, 1665. He had no 
opportunity of defending himself from the 
accusation ; and, without any examination, 
was kept in custody three weeks. Then 
he petitioned for release, urging that his 
affairs required him much at the vintage 
time ; and any further imprisonment would 
result in a serious loss of revenue to the 
king. This petition produced the desired 
result, and he was released at the latter end 
of November. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



George Cokayn goes into Bedfordshire — Preaches in his Son's 
House — Fourth Information against him, dated Jan., 1664 — 
The Sermons and the Prayers — Distance of Cardington from 
Bedford — Cokayn and Bunyan — Outbreak of the Plague — 
Apprehension of Cokayn — Is bailed by two Friends in March, 
1664 — Remains in London during the Plague — The new 
Clergy forsake their Congregations — Ejected Ministers return 
— Cokayn preaches to the Nobility — Names of some of his 
Hearers — Fifth Information against him in August — The 
Informer — Sum raised in Aid of the Godly. 



N information, which furnishes very 



much material towards a clear concep- 
tion of George Cokayn's energy and devoted- 
ness, is furnished by a State Paper dated 
January 23, 1664, which we shall now give at 
length. 

"The information of Matthew Morgan, of 
Carrington, in the county of Bedford, yeoman, 
taken upon oath this 23rd day of January, 




FOURTH INFORMATION AGAINST COKAYN. 123 



in the fifteenth year of the reign of our now 
sovereign lord, King Charles the Second, 
before Sir George Blundell, knight, one of 
his majesty's justices of the peace of the 
county of Bedford. 

" This informant saith, that upon a Sunday, 
in the evening, after sunset, about a fortnight 
before Michaelmas last, that George Cokayn, 
of Soper Lane, London, was then preach- 
ing in Mr. John Cokayn's house in Carrington, 
aforesaid, where this informant then was, 
and did then in his sermons say that he had 
read that the sun shone so hot upon some 
people that they went out with their bows 
and arrows to shoot against [it] ; and so the 
Government now shot against the people of 
God because they preached the Gospel freely. 
And that there was then present twenty 
persons at the least. And this informant 
further saith that this informant did then, 
and several other times, hear the said George 



124 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Cokayn, in his prayer, pray that God would 
be pleased to deliver the people that were in 
prison in this nation, for the Gospel-sake, 
out of the hands of wicked and unreasonable 
men, and to break open the prison doors. 

"This informant further saith, that in or 
about the month of May last, the said George 
Cokayn, then being at the said John Cokayn's 
house, he, the informant, did then hear the 
said Cokayn say in his discourse with others 
of the family, that the old king did deserve 
to be beheaded, and why should he not be 
beheaded as well as another ? 

" This informant likewise saith, that he, the 
said informant, several times in summer last 
heard the said George Cokayn both pray 
and preach against the government of this 
nation in the presence and hearing of several 
persons." 

That last sentence was put in for the 
special object of getting Cokayn into trouble ; 



COKAYN AND BUNYAN. I25 

and there is reason to believe that it produced 
the desired effect. There is much significance 
in the constant repetition of the prayer for 
the deliverance of the godly who were in 
prisons. 

Cardington, or Carrington, is two miles from 
Bedford, and at that time, one John Bunyan 
was in prison in the gaol of that town. Cople 
is only one mile from Cardington. George 
Cokayn was on a visit home. His fame as a 
preacher was widespread. Old friends urged 
him to preach ; and his country friends flocked 
to hear him, in companies of twenty at a time. 
Bedford was only a short walk from Cople. 
The imprisonment of the tinker was doubt- 
less talked about amongst the fanatics. It 
is not improbable, therefore, that Cokayn 
visited Bunyan at that time in his prison, 
and told him about the progress of God's 
work, and the effect of man's malice in the 
great metropolis. 



126 THE STORY OP HARECOURT. 



During the latter part of 1663 there were 
rumours current of an outbreak of plague 
abroad, and, in the spring of 1664, it ap- 
peared in London. 

Cokayn returned to town soon after 
Morgan's information was received at Court, 
and he was almost immediately apprehended. 
The exact circumstances attending his arrest 
are not at all clear. He may have been 
captured on account of the statement made 
by Morgan, or it may have happened that in 
some general seizure of suspected people, he 
was included amongst a number of others. 
Nor is it possible to ascertain accurately 
the course which was pursued with regard to 
him, the gaol in which he was confined, or 
the circumstances under which he obtained 
his freedom. In all probability he was 
thrown into Newgate, and from thence taken 
before a bench of justices by whom he was 
released on bail. The bond into which he 



APPREHENSION OF COKAYN. 127 



entered is now in the State Paper Office, and 
furnishes the only clue to this episode in his 
life. The body of it is in Latin ; and it briefly 
sets forth that two merchants of London, 
William Pendlebury and Henry Lyte, had 
entered into a bond of £200, that George 
Cokayn should surrender himself during the 
ensuing six months before the King or 
Council, within ten days of receiving a 
summons, to answer such things as might be 
objected against him. The bond is dated 
March 1, and the signature a George Cokayn," 
is the only handwriting of his that now exists. 
There is nothing whatever in the State Papers 
to show that the summons was ever served 
upon Cokayn within the prescribed time ; but 
there is undoubted evidence that he remained 
in London until the latter end of October ; and 
was during the whole of that time very busily 
engaged in ministerial work. The violence 
of the plague may have diverted the attention 



128 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



of the authorities from any further examina- 
tion or prosecution of Cokayn ; and he went on 
resolutely with God's work amongst the poor 
terror-stricken people of London, just as 
though he had no fear of standing before 
either the king or his council. The plague 
wrought fearful havoc amongst the poor. 
Trade was suspended, and provisions became 
difficult to obtain. In July the king fled from 
the City. The majority of the newly-appointed 
clergy also fled ; then the old ejected ministers 
returned, and preached to crowded congrega- 
tions. Nor was it amongst the poor solely 
that Cokayn laboured at that time, as the next 
information relating to him sets him forth in 
noble company. But his object was not 
merely to comfort them with the word of God, 
but to draw from them the help which many 
godly people at that period stood in need of. 

On August 5 there was an assemblage in 
the house of Mr. Blake, an ex-justice of the 



PREACHES TO THE NOBILITY. 



129 



peace, in Covent Garden. He was probably 
removed from the bench because of his having 
refused to convict some godly fanatic ; but he 
did not lose his position in society by this 
degradation. In his house, in a wainscoted 
room, dimly illuminated by diamond-shaped 
glass panes, a congregation of about two 
hundred met to worship God.* Amongst 
those present were the Countess of Valentia, 
the Countess of Peterborough, the Countess 
of Anglesey, the two Lady Ermyns, and 
four or five knights, whose names the in- 
former could not obtain. Mr. Blake offered 
prayer. No mention is made of singing. 
They may have omitted that portion of divine 
worship, in consequence of the Conventicle 
Act, fearing that the sound of sacred har- 
mony might bring in some informers, little 
thinking that there was one in their midst 
all the time. After prayer George Cokayn 

* State Papers. Vol. ci., No. 102. 
K 



130 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



preached. What a grand occasion was that 
for him. In the heart of a plague-stricken 
district, in the streets of which men and 
women often lay dead until the plague-carts 
came by to collect the victims ; when terror 
was upon the countenance of every one, and 
people called in wild fear upon the name of 
the Lord ; at such a time George Cokayn 
preached a sermon to two hundred of 
the " quality ; " and though we do not know 
his text, we may be sure it was an eloquent 
exposition of those rules which he had laid 
down years before, of duty to man, and 
walking to Christ. The informer described 
Cokayn as " a Fifth-Monarchy man." This 
was his gross interpretation of a glorious 
sermon, in the course of which Cokayn told 
his hearers that God had indeed come, in the 
judgment of the plague, and that they must 
all be prepared to meet Him. The miscreant 
who wrote that information was a man em- 



THE PLAGUE. 



ployed by some poor Nonconformists to 
obtain for them money out of a fund which 
had been raised for the relief of the godly of 
all persuasions. The same information states 
that ;£ 1,000 had been raised for that purpose, 
which was then an enormous amount. The 
man also mentioned that several meetings 
were held on the same day. In this way 
God's cause prospered, in spite of the Con- 
venticle Act and the plague. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Sixth Information against Cokayn in October, 1664 — The 
Five- Mile Act — Agitation in England — Seventh Information 
against Cokayn in September, 1666 — The Great Fire of 
London — Pancras Church burnt — The old Churchyard — John 
Moore becomes Sheriff of London — Suspension of the Con- 
venticle and Five-Mile Acts — Houses Licensed for Divine 
Worship — Sir Bulstrode and Cokayn apply for Licences — 
Three Applications on one Sheet — Scene in Chilton Lodge — 
Cokayn's House in Redcross Street — The State Spy-book 
— Famous Preachers, Neighbours of Cokayn — Their System 
of Worship — A Gap of Sixteen Years — Persecution and 
Executions in Scotland — Itinerants and Wanderers. 



'WO months elapsed, and Cokayn ap- 



pears once more, as earnest in his 
great work as ever, and as certain to be 
misinterpreted by the informer in some way 
or other as before. The intelligence which 
was sent to the Secretary of State referred 
to a movement for the purpose of uniting 




SIXTH INFORMATION AGAINST COKAYN. 133 



such Presbyterians as had been ejected with 
the Independents. Persecution had made 
brethren of these two great separatist sec- 
tions. Ultimately nothing came of the 
movement, beyond the interchange of bro- 
therly kindnesses ; but that was a great deal 
to accomplish in those days. The declaration 
sets forth that there had been a meeting of 
Fifth - Monarchists, with those of Cokayn's 
church, at Cokayn's house, Soper Lane, on 
the 26th of October. That glorious dream 
of his was altogether beyond the compre- 
hension of a spy, who could conceive of no 
reign except that of physical force, with 
informers, soldiers, turnkeys, and execu- 
tioners. Nothing came of this accusation, 
so far as the State Papers show; and a 
whole year elapsed before his name was 
mentioned again. The plague continued its 
ravages throughout 1665; and finally dis- 
appeared at the great fire which broke out 



134 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



in September, 1666. In the meantime, further 
measures were passed to crush Noncon- 
formity. The continual reports of conven- 
ticles held in all parts of the kingdom, 
coupled with the lying representations that 
the frequenters of them were always plot- 
ting against the king, caused measures of 
the utmost severity to be passed. That Act 
known as the Oxford authorised the adminis- 
tration of an oath of passive obedience and 
non-resistance ; and if that was refused, then 
the nonjurors were forbidden to live within 
five miles of any corporation which sent 
members to Parliament. Nor was that the 
full measure of severity which was meted 
out to the tender-conscienced people of that 
day. To strengthen the provisions of the 
Conventicle Act, ministers were ultimately 
deprived of the right of trial by jury; and 
every justice was empowered to convict them 
upon the oath of a single informer. In the 



PERSECUTION OF NONCONFORMISTS. 135 



beginning of 1666, the plague had so far 
abated that the king and court returned 
to London ; and gradually the people re- 
sumed their customary occupations. But 
fresh troubles were imminent then, in several 
parts of the kingdom ; and the spies fostered 
the feeling that the unfortunate Nonconfor- 
mists were plotting against the peace of 
the king. There were emissaries sent into 
Holland, to discover what was going on 
amongst those English living there, who 
preferred exile and freedom in their worship 
of God, to home and a fettered conscience. 
On the 25th of September, a letter was sent 
from Rotterdam giving an account of doings 
of the English there ; and reference was 
made to Cokayn. The writer says, " a watch 
should be kept on Mr. Cokayn, formerly 
Whitelocke's chaplain ; he corresponds with 
Lockier, the minister, now privately at Rot- 
terdam." This was the seventh information 



136 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



relating to him sent to the authorities ; and 
each one was from a different source. 

Although no record exists of any act of 
Cokayn's during 1666; from what we know 
he did in 1664, it is hardly likely that he 
would remain indolent. The people flocked 
out of London, and swarmed about the 
villages of Islington, Highbury, and New- 
ington ; and in the green fields that stretched 
right away to Highgate. Wherever there 
was a congregation to be found, thither 
George Cokayn went ; and there was ample 
scope for his ministrations among'st the 
burnt-out inhabitants of the great city. Two 
such terrible visitations as the plague and 
the fire, caused a cessation of severities prac- 
tised upon the Fanatics ; and the first to 
return to the City were the ejected men, 
many of whom built wooden sheds on the 
sites of their former churches, and preached 
to large congregations. At the same time, 



GREAT FIRE OF LONDON. 



137 



by order of the Bishop of London, several 
conventicles in the neighbourhood of Red- 
cross Street were forcibly taken possession 
of, in order that the clergy might have a 
temporary place in which to preach. A 
small space of grass, and a few ruinous 
tombs, now mark the position of the old 
graveyard of Pancras ; and warehouses cover 
the site of the once celebrated church. 

Gradually the impression produced by the 
plague and the fire wore off; and the 
persecution of the saints revived. The king 
was continually talking of granting more in- 
dulgence to the sectaries, and his Commons, 
with the bishops, invariably interposed to 
prevent it. Yet the king never suffered the 
obnoxious Acts to have their fullest scope ; 
and high officials from all parts of the king- 

Note. — The house of Alderman Tichborne, a timber building 
in Noble Street, was one of the few houses which escaped the 
fire. All the houses round it were consumed. 



i38 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



dom constantly wrote, complaining that they 
did not know how to act against conventicles, 
or under what statute to prosecute preachers. 

In 1 67 1, John Moore was ejected Sheriff 
of London ; and to his influence Cokayn 
probably owed that immunity from serious 
molestation which characterised his subse- 
quent life. The spies and informers were afraid 
to interfere with one who was allied with 
so important a public functionary as the 
Sheriff. How far Moore identified himself 
with the Nonconformists can only be con- 
jectured ; but his influence was considerable, 
and Cokayn never was treated with such 
harshness as many other City ministers. 

In March, 1672, during a Parliamentary 
recess, Charles II. suspended the Conven- 
ticle and the Five-Mile Acts, and licensed 
preachers and preaching-places. There are 
seven or eight hundred applications in a 
bundle preserved amongst the State Papers; 



1 



SUSPENSION OF THE OBNOXIOUS ACTS. 139 



and many well-known names appear. Amongst 
the places for which licences were required, 
upper rooms, barns, malting floors, garden 
houses, buildings in orchards, halls belonging 
to public companies, chambers in ruined mo- 
nasteries, cellars in old castles, were named. 
Every Nonconformist minister applied for a 
licence for his own house. Philip Henry 
wrote from Malpas for permission to hold 
divine service in his house. John Bunyan 
applied to have a house in an orchard, belong- 
ing to Josiah Roughhed, at Bedford, licensed 
in which to preach. On one particular sheet 
of paper are the following applications : 

"Mr. James Pearson, of the Congregational persuasion, at the 
. house of Sir Bulstiode Whitelocke, at Chilton Lodge, Wilt- 
shire. 

" [Congregational.] Mr. John Whitman, at the house of Mr. 
George Cokayn, at Cotton End, in the parish of Cardington, 
in Bedfordshire. 

" [Congregational ] Mr. George Cokayn, at his own house in 
Redcross Street, London. 
"Pray deliver these to Nath. Ponder." 



140 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



This is conclusive evidence that the relation 
between Cokayn and Sir Bulstrode was still 
as close as before. In his retirement, it is 
pleasant to think he was visited by his former 
chaplain. There were several others in the 
household who would give him a hearty wel- 
come, and his visits would undoubtedly be 
commemorated by a sermon. In one of those 
handsome old halls, which the painters love 
to represent, with oakened floor and wains- 
coted walls adorned with suits of armour, 
and windows looking out upon pleasant 
meadows, or gardens full of fragrant flowers, 
the household was gathered together. First 
we recognise sweet Mary Wilson Whitelocke, 
looking much more matronly than when she 
sat in the old church at Soper Lane ; but 
with love undiminished, and faith unchanged. 
The grave Sir Bulstrode, then fast approach- 
ing the end of his pilgrimage, bore deeply 
chiselled lines on his brow. On many occa- 



WHITELOCKE AND COKAYN. 



141 



sions Cokayn was accompanied by his wife, 
that lady who is all shadow to us, so wonder- 
fully did her life grow into, and become 
absorbed by his ; but though we may net 
see her face and hear her words, we are 
sure she was a partaker of his faith, and bade 
him, if his spirit ever did droop, take courage 
in the name of the Lord. On some of these 
visits they probably met Mrs. Samuel Wilson, 
who always had a long story to tell of the 
annoyances and persecutions to which her 
brave husband was subjected. And as occa- 
sion served Samuel Wilson would accompany 
his wife, and the family circle, such as it has 
been presented to us, would then be complete. 
After divine service what consultations would 
take place about the hope of toleration, or the 
danger of sudden risings ! What strange 
stories they had to tell each other of per- 
sonal experiences, or of the godly who suf- 
fered ! We picture the old hall, built up 



142 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



more than half timber, with quaint gables, 
adorned with curiously carved figures, the 
windows stretching the whole width of the 
front walls, shaded by climbing plants or 
screened by trees, and gardens full of plea- 
sant flowers that distilled sweet odour 
throughout all the chambers of the house. 
As the Lodge stood on an eminence, the 
residents and their visitors had magnificent 
views of the surrounding country, sweet 
woodland glades on one hand, far-reaching 
woods on another. 

How pleasant it must have been to George 
Cokayn, at intervals, to have Chilton Lodge 
as a refuge from the turmoil and sorrow of 
his London work, to wander under the shady 
trees of the park, with Sir Bulstrode and 
Mary Whitelocke, and talk with them of that 
coming time when men and women would 
no longer be cast into prison for worshipping 
God according to the dictates of conscience. 



FROM PANCRAS TO REDCROSS STREET. 143 



The application for a licence at Cardington 
shows that George Cokayn was a regular 
visitor at his son's house down to 1672 ; and 
probably onwards from that time for many 
years. 

But our attention is specially attracted to 
the house in Redcross Street, where he was 
then living. From Pancras, the congregation 
removed to their minister's dwelling. Besides 
certain houses in which he preached, there was 
this great central preaching station where poor 
and rich alike were always welcomed. This 
was a famous locality for preachers in those 
days. There were many "fair houses," as 
Stow terms them, standing in their own plots 
of ground, which afforded admirable arrange- 
ments for accommodating large congrega- 
tions. These houses, at one time, were used 
as country mansions by rich citizens ; and in 
still older times, religious houses were"estab- 
lished there. Green fields and country lanes 



144 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



stretched from Redcross Street to Bunhill. 
The Moorfields only boasted of few houses ; 
pleasure gardens, fruit orchards, and pasture 
land extending from Aldersgate northwards. 
The Jews' burial-place was turned into a 
garden before Cokayn went to reside in 
Redcross Street. From his house a *green 
lane, bordered with trees, ran down between 
garden-ground into Aldersgate Street; and the 
Abbot of Ramsey had in former times a great 
house in that street. Amongst the State 
records is a Spy-book, which contains a list 
of the names and a description of the places 
where many of the Nonconforming preachers 
lived. From this, and another list of a later 
date, which is at Lambeth Palace library, 
we learn the names of Cokayn's neigh- 
bours. William Kiffin, the celebrated mer- 
chant preacher, lived near the Artillery 
Ground ; Thomas Gouge, next door to the 

* Now called Paul's Alley. 



NEIGHBOUR PREACHERS OF COKAYN. 145 



Windmill, against St. Sepulchre's ; Mr. 
Grimes, in Home Alley, Aldersgate Street ; 
Thomas Vincent, a bold, brave preacher, in 
Hand Alley, Bishopsgate Street; Thomas 
Watson, who was ejected from Stephen's, 
Walbrook, in Devonshire House, Bishops- 
gate Street ; Dr. John Owen, " the prince of 
Divines," in White's Alley, Moorfields; Daniel 
Dyke, the Baptist, at the Artillery Ground ; 
Mr. Powell, described as, " a very factious 
man," in Cherry Tree Alley, Bunhill ; Dr. 
Annesley, in Spittle Fields ; Philip Nye, and 
John Loder, both Independents, in Cherry 
Tree Alley, Bunhill ; Dr. Goodwin, a learned 
Independent, somewhere near Bunhill. There 
was no district of London which was so 
thickly occupied by Conventicles as Red- 
cross Street, Paul's Alley, Meeting-House 
Alley, Barbican, the Artillery Ground, and 
Bunhill lanes. In several cases the informer 
mentions that the residence of the minister 
L 



146 THE STGRY OF HARECOURT. 



was near where the quarters of some unfortu- 
nate man hung in the open air. To the 
houses of these godly men, in the country 
lanes and fields outside the City walls, fugi- 
tive ministers from different parts of the 
country came, when persecution drove them 
from home, to seek elsewhere a shelter. 
The ministers so arranged their meetings 
that one was held somewhere every night in 
the week, and several upon each Sunday. 
Often their religious services were prolonged 
far into the night ; and a minister frequently 
preached in two or three different houses, 
many miles apart, between dusk and dawn. 
A settled congregation regularly attended the 
services in George Cokayn's house from 1672; 
and from this the present congregation is 
directly descended. There was probably a 
room in the house capable of holding a large 
number of people. Such a chamber as may 
occasionally be seen in old country houses, in 



THEIR SYSTEM OF WORSHIP. 147 



the neighbourhood of London now. From 
the isolated position of the dwelling, par- 
tially hidden by trees and separated from 
the neighbouring highways by gardens, the 
congregation would enjoy immunity from the 
hateful spy ; and the hanging of tapestry, or 
the more modest cloth, about the walls, would 
tend to deaden the sound of the human voice, 
to all outside the charmed circle. 

From 1672 to 1688, a period of sixteen 
years, our utmost endeavours have failed 
to find a trace of Cokayn. 

In the whole period of his life this is the 
longest gap which exists in our present 
actual knowledge. Enough is known to 
justify the inference that he was actively 
employed during the whole time in the work 
of the Church ; preaching at certain fixed 
stations, as well as in Redcross Street; 
visiting and holding meetings with his 
brethren ; occasionally in the prison yards of 



148 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



the Marshalsea, the Gate- house, or Newgate, 
comforting the prisoners, and keeping up a 
constant correspondence with godly ministers 
abroad. A little thought will enable us to 
apprehend how full of work his hands must 
have been. 

In the political history of England the 
years which linked 1672 with 1688 were cha- 
racterised by a series of incidents of an 
unparalleled description. When the spies 
and informers found that the persecution of 
godly Dissenters was not acceptable at 
Court, they followed the popular cry against 
Popery, and hunted Papists. Gaols that had 
echoed with the psalms of David, sung by 
Independents, Baptists, and Presbyterians, 
were soon filled with the most distinguished 
Roman Catholics. They were regarded with 
disfavour by all sections of Christians. Eng- 
land had suffered so much from the Papacy that 
many godly men preferred restraint, rather 



INCIDENTS OF SIXTEEN YEARS. 149 



than allow to the Romanists any liberty. 
During the prevalence of this Anti-Popish 
feeling, the party jealousy between Whigs 
and Tories became also much embittered. 
The State Papers for several years are filled 
with silly stories from all parts of England 
respecting Popish plots and Whig or Tory 
disturbances. The animosity against the 
Roman Catholics reached a climax in the 
infamous persecutions which Titus Oates was 
instrumental in causing ; and many innocent 
men were brought to the scaffold. In the 
City much alarm was constantly felt, and 
the train-bands were frequently kept under 
arms all night. At this time five lords were 
cast into the Tower ; one of them, the aged 
Lord Stafford, to pass out again quickly to 
suffer a cruel death. In Scotland the per- 
secution of the godly drove them to arms, 
and the Covenanters covered their faith with 
glory, by the heroic bravery they displayed 



150 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



upon the battle-field. The best blood of the 
country was poured out as a sacrifice to 
liberty of conscience ; and those who escaped 
death upon the field met their fate with 
heroism upon the scaffold. A State Paper 
despatched from Edinburgh in the beginning 
of December reports the execution of a 
number of the prisoners, who laid their blood 
at the door of the prelates, which expression 
" had too great dipping in the hearts of the 
commonalty." In another letter, dated De- 
cember 7, the correspondent gives an account 
of the execution of ten men at Edinburgh. 
One Arnot, in the name of the rest, uttered a 
prayer : then drawing forth a bottle of sack, 
with " a roaring voice declared he would 
drink no more wine till he drank it new in his 
Father's kingdom. And then/' adds the 
writer, " most comically turned himself off." 
A cause for which men die in that manner is 
one that must ultimately become triumphant. 



PERSECUTIONS AND EXECUTIONS. 151 



England had only just completed a fresh 
peace with Holland ; and the silly fear about 
Papists wrought more devastation than the 
war. The Duke of York, vexed at his im- 
peachment on account of Papistical leanings, 
took part with the clergy against the Dissen- 
ters, and the most eminent men were again 
subjected to bitter persecution. At this time 
the City was moved to protect the persecuted 
Nonconformists, more in opposition to the 
Court than in sympathy with the principles 
of those whom they befriended. To punish 
the City the king issued a quo warranto to 
inquire into their privileges ; and in carrying 
out his purpose it will be seen that he found in 
Sir John Moore a willing tool. The execu- 
tion of Russell and Sidney was followed by a 
period of quietness ; but it was only the lull 
that preceded the tempest. In the flower of 
his life, the victim of his passions, died 
Charles II., and the storm quickly burst forth. 



152 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



James II. took the helm of affairs into his own 
hands, and prerogative soon came to an end. 
But before his course was run, the Dissenters 
suffered fearful persecution, under the direc- 
tion of the brutal Jeffreys. The mock trial 
of Richard Baxter, in May, 1685, and his 
imprisonment until the close of 1686, are 
familiar to all. A much more fearful atrocity 
was perpetrated in the beheading of Alice 
Lisle, and the burning of Elizabeth Gaunt, 
and with those events the end of James 
and Jeffreys came. 

When the facts of which this is a brief 
summary are borne in mind, it will be 
evident that the life of George Cokayn, during 
those years must have been full of peril and 
excitement. He did not relax his zeal, or his 
Church could not have attained the propor- 
tions it did, at the time of his death. The 
Dissenting preachers are styled in the records 
of Lambeth Palace " itinerants " and " wan- 



ITINERANTS AND WANDERERS. 



153 



derers ; " and this serves to show their chief 
characteristics. They itinerated throughout 
the country preaching to congregations ; and 
by only stopping a short time in one place 
they eluded the spies who were unable to 
obtain their correct names before they went 
away. They became " wanderers/' when, to 
escape from warrants, they fled to London, 
and remained in hiding until search after 
them slackened. Complaint was frequently 
made that the preachers' houses outside the 
City walls were full of strangers in the guise 
of fanatics, who had come from the country. 
The high steeple hats and short cloaks worn 
by the Puritans made them readily identified. 
To these men the house of Cokayn was 
always open, and food and shelter were never 
refused. What a striking contrast does the 
state of those times present to that which 
exists now ! When the congregation met, 
with what a sad heart would George Cokayn 



154 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



note the absence of some regular attendant, 
who had been suddenly cast into Newgate. 
How often would his mind be pained by stories 
of new levies made in the shape of fines upon 
some poor godly family who had thereby been 
ruined. The life of the Church was full of 
anxiety and suffering, and her earnestness 
was only thereby increased. Sometimes meet- 
ings were held at night at which two or three 
continued in prayer for several hours ; and 
only parted when the dawn of day warned 
them that the spies would be quickly about 
the streets. Yet it is to the godly of those 
times we owe the brightest colouring of our 
English home life. The rule of Philip 
Henry's house was that of thousands of 
others. He catechised the members of his 
household in the principles of divine religion ; 
he questioned them upon the sermons they 
heard ; they sang a hymn and read the Bible 
night and morning ; and, after evening wor- 



THE CHURCH IN SUFFERING. 



155 



ship, his children knelt before him and asked 
for his blessing before they retired to rest. 

In the performance of the multitudinous 
duties which fell to the lot of a devoted 
minister in those days, George Cokayn's time 
must have been fully occupied. He was not 
only the leader of his flock in spiritual things, 
but their adviser in all the duties of life ; and 
their unfailing source of sympathy in every 
phase of sorrow which beset them. Day and 
night, summer and winter, were linked toge- 
ther in swift succession, and sixteen years 
glided quickly by, bringing at last that 
glorious liberty for which God's people had 
waited long and suffered much to obtain. 

While history is silent concerning Cokayn 
during this period, his friends are presented 
before us, and their stories now claim atten- 
tion. 



CHAPTER X. 



The Harecourt Church Register for 1696 — Members of the 
Church — The First Deacons, John Strudwick and Robert 
Andrews — Particulars respecting Strudwick — Portrait of 
George Cokayn — When presented — Communion Service — 
Plate given by Sir B. Whitelocke and Sir R. Tichborne — 
John Milton in Bunhill Row — Probable Acquaintance with 
Cokayn — Deaths of Milton and Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke — 
John Nesbitt in the Marshalsea — Set at Liberty — Goes to 
Holland — The Presbyterians and the Romanists struggle for 
Pre-eminence — Satire on the King sung in a Conventicle — 
Sir John Moore becomes Lord Mayor — The Court Influence 
in his Favour — He betrays the City — Charges of Treason 
against the Earl of Shaftesbury and Samuel Wilson — Sir 
James Hay acts as a Spy — The Glover in Fleet Street — Both 
Charges fail — The Informer in Trouble. 

A N old church register, which has lately 
been discovered,* contains a list of those 
belonging to the church in 1696, or a few 
years earlier; and in it are many names, 
familiar, from association with Cokayn, at 

* By James Spicer, Esq., trustee. 



MEMBERS GF THE CHURCH. 



157 



the time of his ejectment. Each is styled 
by the familiar prefix of sister or brother. 
Sister Cokayn, was the wife of the minister. 
Sister Willett, the wife or daughter, of Jacob 
Willett, of St. Laurence Lane. Sister Pen- 
dlebury was the widow of Lyte's fellow- 
bondsman. The occurrence of these names 
proves, the connection between the old con- 
gregation and the new one in Redcross 
Street, and afterwards in Hare Court. The 
deacons are first mentioned in the title-deeds* 
of the land, on which the first "Stated- 
room " in Hare Court was built. They were, 
in 1692, Brother John Strudwick, and Brother 
Robert Andrews. Of the latter we know 
nothing. He died before 1696. Strudwick 
kept a grocer's-shop on Snow Hill, and 
over his door was a sign on which was 
painted a star. 

* Now in the possession of the present occupier of the old 
Chapel in Hare Court, Mr. Thomas Whiteing, Sen. 



158 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



There were certain things in the possession 
of the church then, which happily exist 
now, and to which it is necessary to allude, 
at this point. The first is the oil-painting 
which tradition declares to be the portrait 
of George Cokayn. This has always been 
in the possession of the Church, and there 
is no doubt of its genuineness. When, 
where, and by whom it was presented is 
conjectural. The congregation of Pancras 
may have subscribed for it, after the eject- 
ment of their favourite minister; or it may 
have originated amongst the congregation at 
Redcross Street. Judging from the por- 
trait, he was probably in the prime of life 
at the time ; and the attitude in which he 
stands, with his finger on the open page 
ol a Bible, is strikingly characteristic. A 
large portion of the communion plate also 
dates from this time. Four of the silver 
dishes, with sunk centres and broad edges, 



PORTRAIT AND COMMUNION SERVICE. 159 



were presented by Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke. 
They bear his arms, and those of Mary 
Wilson, his third wife. A silver cup, with- 
out any engraving upon it, bears Hall 
marks, corresponding with those on the 
Whitelocke plates. This portion was pro- 
bably presented to George Cokayn, for his 
personal use, after the marriage of Sir Bul- 
strode with Mary Wilson ; and by Cokayn 
dedicated to the use of his Church in Soper 
Lane. There is also one cup which bears 
the arms of Sir Robert Tichborne, he who 
sat upon the trial of Charles I., signed his 
death-warrant, and afterwards died in the 
Tower. This was in all probability the 
parting gift to Cokayn, when Tichborne was 
about to leave his house, and surrender him- 
self for trial. Since the time of Cokayn 
these sacred vessels have been made use 
of in the service of the Church. Generation 
after generation has passed away, from the 



l6o THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Church below to the Church above, since 
they first stood upon God's altar, in the 
house of the founder of Harecourt. We know 
hands have handled those plates that grasped 
swords in battles fought for the civil and 
religious liberty of England; and lips have 
kissed the cups that moved in prayer at 
the deaths of Cromwell, Milton, and Bunyan. 
It is probable that they form the oldest ser- 
vice of plate in the possession of any Dissent- 
ing Church in London, if not in the kingdom. 
They furnish also the most satisfactory evi- 
dence of the connection which existed between 
the donors and the Church. 

We have not yet exhausted the list of 
Cokayn's neighbours. Close to Bunhill 
Fields there resided a blind man, who was 

" neglected and passed by," 

towards the latter part of his life ; but between 
whom and Cokayn there was a strong sympa- 
thetic feeling. They were both acquainted with 



JOHN MILTON. 



161 



the best friends of Cromwell ; and both were 
eminent in their respective pursuits. What 
more natural than that Cokayn, walking 
forth on summer afternoons, to enjoy the fresh 
country air, should loiter about that door 
where the blind man occasionally sat in the 
sunshine, to hear birds sing and dream of 
angelic hosts. They had lived close neigh- 
bours before the plague broke out; and he 
who was always spoken of by others as 
" that eminent minister," was no unfit com- 
panion for John Milton ; nor was there 
anything in the life of either that could 
have rendered their acquaintance unpleasant. 
On the contrary, Cokayn had much to tell 
that Milton loved to hear; and their friend- 
ship is not a wild conjecture. Milton died 
in 1674, and was buried in the church of 
St. Giles, which stands at the bottom of 
Redcross Street ; and Cokayn from a higher 
motive than one of curiosity — if they had not 
M 



162 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



been personally acquainted — was probably 
present at Milton's interment in the church. 

In the year following the death of Milton, 
died Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke, at Chilton 
Lodge ; and when his will was read, Cokayn 
was mentioned as his "beloved friend. 5 ' 
To comfort the widow was an article of 
Cokayn' s religion ; and Mary Whitelocke, 
in the management of her great family, often 
required the advice of an experienced friend ; 
so that there were two reasons why the 
old chaplain should be a frequent visitor at 
her house. With this event the connection 
between the Whitelockes and the Church is 
severed, so far as the purpose of our story 
is concerned. 

The indulgence which the king granted in 
1-672 was withdrawn as soon as Parliament 
met, and the persecution of Fanatics became 
more severe than ever. There was also a 
serious fear of some Romish plot which greatly 



NESBITT IN THE MARSHALSEA. 163 



agitated the country. In 1678 Nesbitt took 
part with other students, in the University 
of Edinburgh, in a demonstration against the 
Duke of York, which caused much excite- 
ment in Scotland. Orders were given for 
the arrest of the students. Nesbitt escaped 
from Scotland ; but was captured in London, 
and thrown into the Marshalsea prison, where 
he languished for four months. Although 
only nineteen years of age, he possessed an 
inflexible will, which neither the annoyance 
of his imprisonment nor the promised favour 
of the king could shake. It was hoped that 
he would give up the names of those con- 
cerned with him in the outrage at Edinburgh, 
but he never did ; and after a weary deten- 
tion he was released. He then went to 
Holland, and completed his studies in a 
Dutch University. In 1679 tne discussion 
relating to the Papists became very fierce ; 
and in the literature of that date they were 



164 THE STGRY OF HARECOURT. 



represented as wrangling with the Presby- 
terians as to supremacy. A ballad in the 
Luttrell collection, at the British Museum, 
contains the following excellent verses : 

" A truce, a truce, quoth Presbyter Jack, 
We both love treason as loyalists sack, 
And if either prevails the king goes to rack, 
Which nobody can deny. 

" The bishops tell Charles we both have long nails, 
And Charles shall find it if either prevails, 
For, like Samson's foxes, we are ty'd by the tails, 
Which nobody can deny." 

In one conventicle at least, they varied the 
singing of David's Psalms, by a satire upon 
the king and the age. The king was nick- 
named Nimrod because of his fondness for 
hunting; and that makes the point of a 
verse, which was communicated by one who 
heard it to the Secretary of State. This 
was what they sang at Ralphson's * Meeting- 
house : 

* The assumed name of Jeremiah Marsden. He was im- 
prisoned in Newgate for preaching, where he died. 



SIR JOHN MOORE LORD MAYOR. 165 



" By Babel once confusion came, 
Lord, send it over again ; 
And in confusion raise thy name, 
Lest Nimrod and his reign." 

Ralphson was buried in Bunhill Fields 
in 1683; and that fact was reported to the 
Secretary of State, because of the multitude 
which witnessed his interment. 

During the interval between 1672 and 
1 68 1, Sir John Moore had rapidly advanced 
in favour with the Court ; and, in charity, we 
may hope he was unaware to what extent 
the king had determined to make a tool 
of him. He was elected to the office of Lord 
Mayor entirely by the Court influence. A 
messenger was sent in the king's name to 
all the royal tradesmen to be present at 
the election.* Immediately after it took place 
[September 29th] a messenger was de- 
spatched to the king, who was then at New- 
market, with the intelligence that Sir John 

* State Papers, Letter dated Sept. 19, 168 1. 



l66 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Moore had been elected. The dispatch 
reached Newmarket on the following day, 
and finding " his Majesty was gone a-hawk- 
ing," "the messenger would not stay till 
he had overtaken" him. In acknowledging 
the receipt of this communication, Lord Con- 
way says,* "By the discourse I had formerly 
with his Majesty, and his resolution to have 
refused any but Sir John Moore, I know 
his Majesty will be very well pleased with 
it, and I offered last night in his bed-chamber 
to lay any wager that Sir John Moore would 
carry it." The matter which the Court was 
anxious to secure was nothing less than the 
possession of the City charters; and so ob- 
tain the direct government of all the cor- 
porations in the kingdom. There was some 
suspicion at the time that Sir John would 
play into the hands of the Court party; 
and amongst those who opposed his election 

* State Papers, Letter dated Sept. 30, 1681. 



POLICY OF THE KING. 



167 



was Samuel Wilson. So that if Cokayn was 
then friendly with Sir John, he must have 
differed from his friend Wilson. The policy 
of the king was still further disclosed in 
a letter written by Lord Conway to Mr. 
Secretary Jenkins, dated 8th of October, from 
Newmarket; in which he says, "If you can 
get the judges to stick to the king with 
courage and resolution in the regulation of 
the London juries, his Majesty will come 
to town very well pleased." The effect of 
this soon presented itself. Juries were se- 
lected who gave ruinous damages against 
those charged with sedition or libel against 
the king. All the City charters were de- 
clared forfeited ; and nearly every corporate 
borough in England had in like manner 
to surrender its privileges. Informers were 
multiplied, and men of high social position 
condescended to play the spy upon those 
with whom they came in contact. The 



l68 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Fanatics disappear from the State Papers, 
and informations for political offences are 
greatly multiplied. Russell and Sidney were 
tried at this period and executed. There 
were very few instances in which a charge 
was not maintained ; but one notable excep- 
tion was in the case of the Earl of Shaftes- 
bury. He was then, as his descendant is 
now, a champion of Protestantism, and 
greatly beloved by the whole nation. Charges 
of a political character were trumped up 
against him, which were afterwards acknow- 
ledged to be false by the men who swore 
to them ; and the grand jury threw out the 
bill. So general was the rejoicing that bon- 
fires were lighted in all the principal streets 
of the metropolis. In consequence of this 
Sir John Moore was directed to prohibit the 
making of bon-fires and the ringing of church 
bells in the future, without the permission 
of the Government. One of the State Papers, 



MOORE BETRAYS THE CITY. 169 



which bears the signature of John Moore, 
acquaints Mr. Secretary Jenkins that ac- 
cording to his duty, on the instructions he 
had received, the necessary prohibition had 
been issued. He proceeded still further in 
the nomination of a sheriff named Dudley 
North to advance the king's views ; and 
disorders ensued in the City which lasted 
for several months. Moore was strongly 
seconded by Jeffreys ; and ultimately, after 
the most disgraceful acts, the City gave up 
for a time the right which she had previously 
possessed, to elect, without interference, her 
Lord Mayor and Sheriffs. Throughout the 
whole of his mayoralty* Sir John was ex- 
posed to the obloquy of many of the chief 
citizens ; and his name, attached to Cokayn 

* Sir J. Moore is Ziloah, in the second part of Dryden's 
" Absalom and Achitophel." Charles II. allowed him to in- 
corporate the lion of England with his family arms for the ser- 
vices which he rendered. 



170 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



by that slender mention in Calamy, will 
be, without regret, allowed to sink into ob- 
livion. 

There was mixed up in the charges which 
resulted in the arrest of the Earl of Shaftes- 
bury, a member of the Pancras congrega- 
tion, with whom we are already acquainted, 
Samuel Wilson. He shared the feeling of 
indignation common to most people, at the 
arrest of the Earl ; and one Sir James Hay, 
whose poverty drove him into becoming a 
common informer, volunteered to entrap 
Wilson. To the grandfather of this Hay, 
Charles I. granted certain trading mono- 
polies in Nova Scotia, which brought in a 
revenue of £500 a year; but Charles II. 
transferred the land to the French king, and 
reduced the grandson to beggary. He be- 
came so poor as to be continually dunning a 
subordinate officer of the government for 
money; and in an account furnished, amongst 



SIR JAMES HAY AND SAMUEL WILSON. 171 



other articles supplied to him were " a beaver 
hat,* a silver sword, and a perriwig," at a 
cost of £6 10s. Sir James Hay waited about 
Wilson's place of business at the Tower, until 
he came out to go into the City, and then 
with honeyed phrases thrust himself forward, 
and sought to betray Wilson into all sorts 
of seditious expressions. The informations 
which Hay sent in are of the most ridiculous 
character.f In one he relates that he had been 
with Samuel Wilson at the "Bear," in Birchin 
Lane, and the latter said that Shaftesbury 
" would soon appear glorious and great in the 
world, and then they would all be great;" 
" that the king was perjured in breaking the 
covenant," and similar phrases. Sir James 
asked him what they intended to do with the 
king; and Wilson replied, "Don't you know 
what witty Oliver said ? ' Give him a shoulder 

* State Tapers, October 3, 1681. 
f Ibid., October II, 1681. 



172 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



of mutton and a mistress, and that is all he 
cares for.'" In this way the stupid knight 
sought to entrap the merchant. On the 12th 
of October Wilson made his appearance be- 
fore the king's Council — the Earl of Halifax, 
Lord Conway, Lord Hyde, and Mr. Secretary 
Jenkins. Selected portions from the state- 
ments of informers were read; and he was 
subjected to a sharp examination. He carried 
himself with great haughtiness before the 
Council ; denied the accusations that were 
made of treason ; and demanded that his 
accusers might be brought before his face, 
that the matter might be settled without more 
ado. But this did not suit the mode of ad- 
ministering justice in those days. It is pro- 
bable that he was committed to Newgate, to 
await his trial at the same sessions of the Old 
Bailey which were rendered memorable by 
the acquittal of the Earl of Shaftesbury. In 
the meantime, measures were taken to bolster 



EXAMINATION OF WILSON. 



173 



up the charge as strongly as possible in order 
to secure a conviction. Two days after 
Wilson's appearance before the Council, a 
worthy but vain tradesman, with whom he 
had had dealings, was carried before Mr. 
Secretary Jenkins, and obliged to make a 
statement which was afterwards taken down 
in writing. It is by certain facts in his narra- 
tive, the identification of Wilson is established 
in his relation to this story. The examina- 
tion is that of Benjamin Clarke, of Fleet 
Street, milliner, and is dated October 14th, 
1 681.* "This examinant saith that he hath 
been acquainted with Mr. Samuel Wilson 
about half a year, and he was his customer 
for one pair of fringed gloves [only one patr!\ 
His acquaintance with Mr. Wilson happened 
upon occasion of Mr. John Whitlock and 
Mr. Stephen Whitlock, kinsmen to Wilson, 
were lodged in this examinant's house — Mr. 

* State Papers, October 14, 1681. 



174 TH E STORY OF HARECOURT. 



John Whitlock being a mercer in Pater- 
noster Row, Mr. Stephen Whitlock being of 
the Chancery Office/' Then he proceeds to 
narrate under what circumstances he became 
acquainted with Sir James Hay. They had. 
talked together with Wilson about some 
gloves and about the Earl of Shaftesbury. 
He "was once at the Castle Tavern in Fleet 
Street, with Sir James Hay and his lady, and 
Mr. Samuel Wilson, where they drank one 
bottle of claret ; and the occasion of the exami- 
nant's going thither was to carry Mr. Wilson's 
gloves to him, who, after Sir James and his 
lady were gone, gave this examinant one pint 
of wine more, and then Wilson showed this 
examinant a patent under the hands of the 
Earls of Coventry, Shaftesbury, and others, 
granting to the said Sir James 3,000 acres of 
land in Carolina, which Mr. Wilson said he 
would give Sir James five guineas for, if he 
would not accept it himself." This deposition 



THE GLOVER IN FLEET STREET. 



175 



is full of interest, and the points in the cha- 
racters of the leading figures are admirably- 
drawn. Sir James was actually indebted to 
the Earl of Shaftesbury for a grant of land in 
New England, and he tried to sell his patent 
for five guineas to another whom he wanted 
to ruin. Land in Carolina must have been 
very cheap when 3,000 acres were for sale at 
so low a figure. Mr. Wilson, pleased with 
his new gloves, and revolving in his mind the 
purchase of the patent, orders one pint of wine 
more, which the two drank. Clarke must 
have been celebrated for his gloves, by the 
manner in which he dragged them into his 
statement ; and the garrulous fellow was 
made to swear to his statement through the 
knavery of Sir James Hay. On the 15th of 
October, another information was sworn 
against Wilson, and this was by Sir James 
Hay ; but there is not a phrase in it which 
bears the slightest complexion of treason. 



176 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



A digest of all the informations was prepared, 
and one man put^ these words into the mouth 
of Wilson, " that what was done for the Pro- 
testant cause was nothing but what they 
ought to do, to save their estates, lives, and 
souls from rum." The indictment was thrown 
out by the grand jury, to the joy of all 
Wilson's friends ; but he was kept in prison 
for some time afterwards, according to a 
very curious petition which was presented 
by a prisoner named Booth, under date of 
December 2nd. This fellow was one of the 
informers against the Earl of Shaftesbury, 
and upon action being taken, he was cast 
into Newgate, where he appears to have 
spent a very miserable time. He entreated 
the Secretary of State to release or remove 
him, and says,* "I wish you could but see 
how apparent Wilson's supplies are both 
in his habit and expenses, and what a crowd 

* State Papers, December 2, 1681. 



SIR JAMES HAY IN TROUBLE. 



177 



of fanatics are continually about him. If 
I lived low in another prison it would not 
trouble me so much, but here not only I 
but a good cause are run down together. 
If I had my liberty I am satisfied a second 
bill would be found at Oxford." Sir James 
Hay also suffered from the righteous in- 
dignation of the populace, for his share in 
the transaction. He was unrewarded, and 
the secret-service money withdrawn, he soon 
fell into poverty.* In a petition to the king, 
he complains that no allowance has been 
granted to him ; or any regard taken of 
his services. He craves to be preserved from 
the malice of those whom he has " dis- 
obliged ; " and complains not only that his 
name is abused in print, but that the people 
watch his lodgings to annoy him. This 
shows the popularity of Samuel Wilson in 
the City. Twice in the same month Sir 

* State Tapers, December I, 1681. 
N 



i 7 8 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



James Hay prayed for help ; so that his 
need must have been very great. On March 
14, 168* he addressed the following letter to 
Mr. Secretary Jenkins : — 

" Right Honourable, 

"My wife having lately waited upon 
the Marquess Halifax, to implore his assist- 
ance in representing to your honour and 
others in whose power it is to relieve me, 
that I am in a most deplorable condition in 
the common side of the King's Bench prison ; 
she was instructed by his lordship to make 
application to you, and I humbly beg of 
you to believe me that a greater object of 
pity and charity is not in the three kingdoms, 
and I beg of you for Jesus Christ's sake 
to take my sad condition into your charitable 
consideration, and bestow something upon 
me of your own bounty, knowing I am a 
gentleman and in great distress. God will 



HAY TO SECRETARY JENKINS. 



179 



bless you to relieve the poor and afflicted. 
Sir, all humility and submission, I am, right 
honourable, your honour's most to be pitied 
suppliant, 

"James Hay. 

" From the common side of the King's 
" Bench prison in Southward." 

In subsequent petitions to the king he 
gave an outline of his family history, with 
the reverses which he had suffered. What 
became of him it is hardly worth any trouble 
to discover. At the same time, we suffer 
Samuel Wilson to disappear, with a note of 
admiration for the courage which he exhi- 
bited on all those occasions when the State 
Papers have presented him before us. 



CHAPTER XI. 



Magistrates hunting Fanatics — Trick played upon them — 
Accession of James II. — The brutal Jeffreys — Erection of 
Conventicles — The Stocking Weavers' Hall, Redcross Street 
— John Bunyan visits John Strudwick — Bunyan sends a 
Sermon to Press — Is taken ill of Fever — Nursed by Strud- 
wick — Visited by Friends— His dying Sayings — Buried in 
Strudwick's Vault at Bunhill — Cokayn revises the unfinished 
Proofs of the Sermon — Writes the Preface — Strudwick's 
Work as a Deacon — Disappears from the Church Register — 
Probable Date of Death — His Interment in the same Vault 
as Bunyan — Accession of William and Mary — Cokayn's 
Illness — Preaches from a Chan — Choice of Nesbitt as Minister 
— Death of Cokayn, in his 73rd year — Burial in Bunhill 
Fields. 

T N the year of Sir John Moore's mayoralty 
there were very strong measures taken 
by the magistrates and the Church party 
to suppress conventicles in the City. They 
had become so numerous, and the attend- 
ance so large, that a feeling of fear was 



HUNTING FANATICS. l8l 



engendered as to their political influence. 
It was left for the magistrates to take the 
initiative ; and one Mr. L. C. Rich made 
the following report to the Secretary of State 
upon what he had done.* The document 
bears date December 18, 1681. "Last night 
Mr. Pyers, Mr. Freeman, and myself met to 
consider on a method to proceed against 
conventicles. We sent to some other justices 
to come to our assistance, but they did not 
appear. This morning we three {a sugges- 
tive number) met, and called the consta- 
bles, churchwardens, and overseers of the 
respective ' parishes to our assistance, who 
did come, and went with us. The first we 
came to was an Anabaptist, where were 
assembled about one hundred and fifty poor 
mechanical fellows, and the preacher was 
like them. Upon our demand he came from 
his pulpit. But when we asked his name 

* State Fapers. 



182 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



one of his assembly made answer: * The law 
did not direct the man to tell it/ We 
observed one or two whom we should know 

of our own knowledge From this 

we went to Vincent's, but he hearing of our 
coming slipt away, and set his conventicle 
to singing of David's Psalms. The more 
the justice talked to them, and required 
them to disperse, the louder they sang. [The 
scene may be imagined. A justice : ' / command 
you in the king's name to disperse! The people 
singing: — 

' Let God arise, and scattered 

let all His en'mies be ; 
And let all those that do Him hate 

before His presence flee. 
As smoke is driv'n, so drive Thou them ; 

as fire melts wax away, 
Before God's face let wicked men 

so perish and decay.'] 

We could not get either churchwardens, 
overseers of the poor, or constables, to give 
us the name of any one person — pretended 



THE HUNTERS OUTWITTED. 183 



altogether ignorance. [They were all strug- 
gling to suppress their laughter ; no doubt.'] 
There, we know, Mr. John Cholmley, his 
Majesty's brewer, and an alderman. The 
other conventicles, hearing of our coming, 
dispersed themselves. From the whole, I 
do perceive, that in case they do suppress, 
it must proceed from all the justices appear- 
ing jointly in the thing. And unless his 
Majesty commands them before him, I do 
perceive they will not appear zealous in it. 
And then also, if they proceed not upon the 
Oxford Act, I do not perceive they value the 
other, for they will get watch and spies for 
our coming, that we shall never catch them 
preaching or holding forth, and we shall 
not get any of their people to inform, for 
they are afraid the others will destroy them." 
That is an admirable illustration of some of 
the difficulties under which the fanatics and 
their opponents laboured. 



1 84 



THE STORY OF HA RE COURT. 



In 1685 James II. ascended the throne, 
and two years afterwards, — the work of the 
brutal Jeffreys intervening, — the king made 
a declaration of indulgence, wider in its 
scope than that which was granted by 
Charles II. A new impetus was immediately 
given to the Dissenting congregations ; and 
the erection of a large number of chapels 
was forthwith commenced. But no step was 
taken to erect a place of worship by the 
members of Cokayn's congregation at that 
time, nor until after his death. There was in 
Redcross Street a hall belonging to the stock- 
ing-weavers ; and there is ground for suppos- 
ing that when his own dwelling-house became 
too small for the congregation, the hall was 
hired in which to worship upon the Sabbath. 

In the autumn of 1688 an event happened 
which adds fresh lustre to the church of 
Harecourt. One wet night in August there 
rode up to the house of Deacon Strudwick, 



JOHN BUNYAN. 



185 



on Snow Hill, a man of some fifty-nine 
years, whose clothes were soaking with wet. 
The greeting between the two men proved 
they were old acquaintances, and that a 
bond of more than ordinary friendship ex- 
isted between them. The strangers face 
was that of a man of undaunted resolution, 
yet there was a dreaminess about the ex- 
pression of the eye that betokened a reli- 
gious enthusiast. His hair was iron grey, 
and there was a certain yielding of the 
frame, as of a man who had long passed 
the prime of his days. Since this man did 
duty as a soldier at the siege of Leicester 
he had passed twelve years in prison, and the 
chief product of that imprisonment was the 
" Pilgrim's Progress." It was John Bunyan 
who was the guest of John Strudwick. The 
great Baptist preacher was at home with 
the Independent deacon. Of the visit only 
one fact is known ; everything else is con- 



l86 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



jectural. The difference in their religious 
principles will hardly occasion surprise when 
Bunyan's famous expression is remembered : 
" I know no sect. I am a Christian." In all 
probability several days elapsed before Bunyan 
showed symptoms of illness. During that in- 
terval he sent a sermon upon a Broken Heart 
to be printed at the Hand and Bible, on Lon- 
don Bridge, and revised a few of the proof 
sheets himself. But before the whole of the 
sermon was in type he was laid up with fever, 
caught through riding in the rain on the 
day of his arrival in London. The deep 
concern which must have beset Strudwick's 
household at the illness of their guest may 
be imagined. The distance from Redcross 
Street was not great, and the first person 
consulted would probably be George Cokayn. 
Taken ill at the house of one of Cokayn's 
deacons, it is not unreasonable to suppose 
that he was one of the earliest to visit the 



IS TAKEN ILL OF FEVER. 



I8 7 



sick pilgrim, and render what help he could 
on such an emergency. For ten days Bun- 
yan lingered, waiting "for the good hour" 
when the post should " come from the celes- 
tial city."* During this time he conversed 
with his host, and the friends who visited 
him, upon "Sin," "Affliction," "Repentance 
and Coming to Christ," " Prayer," and 
kindred topics. f Fragments of this conver- 
sation were committed to writing by Strud- 
wick, and afterwards published. When his 
friend spoke with him about the strangeness 
of his affliction, he replied, " The Lord 
useth his flail of tribulation to separate the 
chaff from the wheat. The school of the 
cross is the school of light, it discovers the 
world's vanity, baseness, and wickedness, 
and lets us see more of God's mind. Out 
of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light." 

* " The Pilgrim's Progress." 

f " Dying Words of John Bunyan." 



i88 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Some one asked his advice about prayer, 
and he replied, "When thou prayest, rather 
let thy heart be without words, than thy 
words without heart. Prayer will make a 
man cease from sin, or sin will entice a 
man to cease from prayer. Pray often, for 
prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to 
God, and a scourge for Satan." When the 
Sabbath came, and he heard the bells of 
St. Sepulchre's ringing for divine worship, 
his thoughts were filled with the sanctity 
and glory of the day. " Have a special care 
to sanctify the Lord's day," he said to those 
about him, "for as thou keepest it, so it 
will be with thee all the week long. Make 
the Lord's day the market for thy soul, let 
the whole day be spent in prayer, repetitions 
or meditations ; lay aside the affairs of the 
other part of the week, let the sermon thou 
hast heard be converted into prayer. Shall 
God allow thee six days, and wilt not thou 



HIS DYING SAYINGS. 



189 



afford him one ? In the church be careful 
to serve God, for thou art in his eye and not 
in man's. Thou mayest hear sermons often, 
and do well in practising what thou hearest ; 
but thou must not expect to be told thee in 
a pulpit all that thou oughtest to do, but 
be studious in searching the Scriptures and 
reading good books. What thou hearest 
may be forgotten, but what thou readest 
may better be retained. Forsake not the 
public worship of God, lest God forsake 
thee, not only in public but in private." 

As his illness increased, his mind recalled 
the old days of persecution, and the friends 
with whom he used to meet. " I have often 
thought, 5 ' he said, " the best of Christians 
are found in the worst of times, and I have 
thought again that one reason why we are 
no better, is because God purges us no more. 
Noah and Lot, who so holy as they in the 
time of their afflictions, and yet who so idle 



190 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



as they in the time of their prosperity?" 
Day by day he thus talked with those who 
sat beside him, and John Strudwick was 
always near to jot down his words. It was 
when near death that his old enemy, the 
devil, began to plague him, and turning to 
those near, he told them " as the devil la- 
bours by all means to keep out other things 
that are good, so to keep out of the heart 
as much as in him lies, the thoughts of 
passing from this life into another world ; 
for he knows if he can but keep them from 
the serious thoughts of death, he shall the 
more easily keep their sins." Then, as in 
a moment of sudden inspiration, he cried 
out, " O sinner, what a condition wilt thou 
fall into when thou departest this world, if 
thou depart unconverted ! Thou hadst better 
have been smothered the first hour thou wast 
born; thou hadst better have been plucked 
one limb from another ; thou hadst better 



HIS DYING SAYINGS. 



I 9 I 



have been made a dog, a toad, a serpent, 
than to die unconverted. This thou wilt 
find true if thou repent not." As the pil- 
grim drew near to the edge of that river 
which he described as very deep, and over 
which there was no bridge, he had a glimpse 
of the land upon the other side, and shaking 
off for a moment the lethargic fever, he 
told those around his bed "of the joys of 
heaven." "There is no good in this life," 
he cried out, "but what is mingled with 
some evil. Honours perplex, riches disquiet, 
and pleasures ruin health ; but in Heaven we 
shall find blessings in their purity without 
any ingredient to embitter, with everything 
to sweeten them. Oh ! who is able to con- 
ceive the inexpressible, inconceivable joys 
that are there ? None but those who have 
tasted of them. Lord, help us to put such 
a value upon them here, that in order to 
prepare ourselves for them, we may be will- 



192 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



ing to forego the loss of all those deluding 
pleasures here. How will the heavens echo 
their joy, when the bride, the Lamb's wife, 
shall come to dwell with her husband for 
ever ! Christ is the desire of nations, the joy 
of angels, the delight of the Father — what 
solace then must that soul be filled with that 
hath the possession of Him to all eternity ! 

" Oh what acclamations of joy will there 
be when all the children of God shall meet 
together, without fear of being disturbed by 
the antichristian and carnish blood ! Is there 
not a time coming when the godly may ask 
the wicked, what profit they have in their 
pleasure, what comfort in their greatness ? 
and what fruit in all their labour ? If you 
would be better satisfied what the beautiful 
vision means, my request is, that you would 
live holily, and go and see/' 

There followed disjointed exclamations, 
by which it was supposed he contrasted 



DEATH OF BUNYAN. 



1 93 



the joy of the saints with the agony of the 
damned, and his last recorded words were 
" saints in the world to come." Then John 
Bunyan entered the river, and those who 
watched presently knew that he had passed 
over to the other side. He died August 17, 
1688, and was buried in a vault, belonging 
to Strudwick, in Bunhill Fields. There is 
no record by whom the funeral service was 
conducted, or of whom the funeral proces- 
sion was composed; but with the facts that 
have come to light now, it is not unreason- 
able to suppose that Cokayn laid the body 
of the immortal pilgrim to rest in the well- 
known vault, now surmounted by his effigy. 
The unrevised sheets of Bunyan's sermon 
were corrected by George Cokayn, who also 
wrote the preface ; and upon reading this, 
it will be evident that the two men must 
have been personally acquainted. The con- 
nection between Bunyan and Strudwick is 
o 



194 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



conclusively proved by the Church Register. 
Strudwick's name appears in an alphabetical 
list at the beginning of the book, with the 
word " deceased " written against it ; and 
an examination of the accounts shows that 
the last time he acted as a deacon was in 
September, 1697. He was alive in Decem- 
ber of that year, as appears from the fact 
that he paid his quarterly proportion of the 
£10 which he contributed towards the sup- 
port of the ministry. At this period the 
year ended March 24, and 1698 would there- 
fore begin on March 25. Strudwick's name 
does not appear either as an acting deacon 
or as contributor in the lists commencing 
with March 25, 1698, therefore he must have 
died between December, 1697, and March 
24, 1697. If it can be proved that he not 
only died between these dates, but was 
buried in the same vault as Bunyan, the 
identity of Deacon Strudwick with the gro- 



BURIED IN BUNHILL FIELDS. 195 



cer of Snow Hill will be established. This 
proof is furnished by a volume of " Notes 
and Queries " for 1864.* A contributor who 
signs himself "H. J. S." writes, "I have 
just discovered, in the handwriting of Dr. 
Richard Rawlinson, LL.D., a copy of the 
inscription which formerly existed on the 
tomb in which was interred the author of 
the ' Pilgrim's Progress.' 

HERE LYES THE BODY OF 

MR. JOHN BUNYAN, 
Author of 4 The Pilgrim's Progress,' 
aged 59, 

WHO DYED AUG. 1 7, 1 688. 
HERE LIES THE BODY OF 

MR. JOHN STRUDWICK, 

AGED 43 YEARS, 
WHO DYED THE 15TH DAY OF JAN., 1697. 

ALSO THE BODY OF 

MRS. PHCEBE BRAGGE.f 

WHO DIED THE 15TH JULY, 1718. 



* June 11, 1864. Page 475. 

f Wilson supposes that Mrs. Bragge was a daughter of 
Strudwick. 



196 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



HERE ALSO LIES THE BODY OF THE 

REV. ROB. BRAGGE, 
Minister of the Gospel, 

WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE FEBRUARY THE I2TH, 1737, 
JETATIS 70." 

Up to the present time nothing whatever 
beyond his name, his trade, and his resi- 
dence has been known of Strudwick ; hence- 
forward Harecourt may make this sacred 
boast, that John Bunyan died in the house 
of one of her first deacons. We have slightly 
digressed by referring to the death of Bun- 
yan' s host, which took place in the time of 
John Nesbitt. On the Sunday following 
Bunyan's burial, Cokayn probably alluded 
to the death of the great pilgrim. The pre- 
face which he wrote to Bunyan's sermons 
is the last work which emanated from his 
pen. 

The political events which followed the 
trial of the Seven Bishops are well known. 
James soon fled, never to return. George 



ACCESSION OF WILLIAM AND MARY. 197 



Cokayn was actively engaged in the work 
of the ministry after the accession of Wil- 
liam and Mary ; after that time, when 
every bond was relaxed, when civil liberty 
was obtained, and toleration in religious 
matters secured, then the infirmities of ad- 
vancing age seized upon him. He had 
lived to be seventy- one before the Church 
thought of a successor. When he became 
so paralysed in his lower limbs that he 
could not walk, he expressed an anxious 
desire for his successor to be appointed. 
From an Elegy which is preserved,* certain 
interesting facts are obtained. The Church 
first had recourse to prayer for guidance. 
During this period Cokayn continued to 
study in his bed during the week, and upon 
the Sabbath was carried in a chair to preach 
to the congregation. What a grand picture 
does this fact supply! The aged minister, 

* In the Lu'.trell Collection at the British Museum. 



198 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



with his long white hair, sitting in a chair 
before the congregation, and telling them 
the old old story in some strange new 
fashion, as it had been hammered out by 
his busy brain during the week : bidding 
them always do their duty, and walk direct 
to Christ ; and then closing with a prayer 
for the peace of the Church, and the coming 
of the kingdom. There was doubtless never 
any lack of stout friends, members of his 
own Church, to carry that sedan-chair to 
and fro from his house to the place where 
he preached and back again. Possibly his 
deacons kept that work amongst themselves, 
as one of the privileges to which they were 
entitled by their position in the Church, and 
it was a work of which any man had reason 
to boast of having a share. At last* God 
sent the Church a new pastor in John Nes- 
bitt. The Elegy lays stress upon one point 

* The Elegy. See Appendix, p. 265. 



ILLNESS OF COKAYN. 



I 99 



in his election, that he was invited by the 
unanimous vote of the Church, and that 
was one of the chief things upon which 
Cokayn had set his heart. Thus there flashes 
out at the very last that love of unity which 
was one of his characteristics. At length 
the time came for George Cokayn to die. 
Surely it was not an unwelcome event to 
one who had been so tossed upon the trou- 
bled billows of life as he had. Those friends 
with whom he set out on the journey of life 
were nearly all dead. Sir Robert Tich- 
borne was dead ; Sir Bulstrode, his first 
patron, was also dead ; Sir John Ireton was 
in all probability dead ; John Milton was 
dead ; John Bunyan dead ; William Pendle- 
bury, his bondsman, dead. The deaths of 
such friends as these must have sufficed so 
to dull the sweet charm of living, as to 
leave death desirable. He had been per- 
mitted to see great results follow his labour. 



200 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



That Church which he had fostered in the 
homes of those who loved him, and who 
honoured Christ, worshipped God without 
fear. He had been spared through all those 
troublous years which linked Cromwell with 
William and Mary ; to see civil and reli- 
gious liberty established on a firm basis. 
His congregation was large, his Church 
was united and active ; one spirit pervaded 
the whole. Bodily infirmities had so fas- 
tened upon him, that he was physically 
unable to go in and out amongst those he 
loved, as had been his custom. The Church 
had chosen her future pastor, so the last 
link that bound him to life was loosened. 
One cold winter ^night, November 21st, 
1 69 1, the summons came, and the grand old 
man, full of years, laid down the burden 
of life. In the house in which for many 
years he preached Free Grace for Sinners 
to all who came, he lay dead. It may be 



HIS DEATH. 



20I 



that his body was laid out in that big cham- 
ber which had often echoed with his voice, 
and that all the members of his Church 
gathered about him there before the day of 
burial came, and said to one another in their 
grief, " Our father is indeed dead/' He was 
seventy-two years of age when death came, 
and forty-two years were spent amongst the 
same congregation. The Elegy, to which 
reference has already been made, reminded 
his friends that they were to meet at Stock- 
ing-weavers' Hall, in Redcross Street, on 
Friday, to proceed to the funeral. John 
Nesbitt probably took the leading share in 
the service, and while that was going on, 
some one went into St. Giles's Church, and 
made this entry in the burial register : 
"November 27, George Cockaine, gent., 
aged, Tindall's." When a certain portion 
of the funeral ceremony had been gone 
through, the procession was formed, and 



202 



THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



they bore the first pastor of Harecourt to 
Tindall's ground, or, as it is now termed, 
Bunhill burial-fields. There, in some for- 
gotten portion of those sacred fields, sur- 
rounded by many a noble preacher, George 
Cokayn found his final earthly resting-place. 
Mrs. Cokayn survived her husband several 
years, and died in the beginning of 1697. 

Looking back over those forty-two years 
which comprehended his ministerial labours, 
many points attract special attention. When 
he started upon his career, he set before his 
soul a work amongst perishing men and 
women, and with a purpose which never 
wavered, he laboured on in all the changing 
scenes through which he passed, until his 
death. At the most promising point of his 
life, when a bright future appeared before 
him, he turned aside, and from the pulpit of 
Margaret's, Westminster, descended to labour 
for the future amongst the people of the 



RETROSPECT OF HIS CAREER. 203 



City, in whose midst his church stood. By 
his devotion he was permitted to build up 
a Church, destined to survive a dynasty of 
kings, and nourish through centuries. All 
men were comprehended in the grace which 
he proffered on behalf of his Great Master. 
Toleration could not be more wide, nor liberty 
more free. Two hundred years elapsed be- 
fore the nation could ^appreciate the full glory 
of the liberty which he taught in Pancras, 
Soper Lane. At one time he seemed to 
have the gift of prophecy, so clearly did he 
describe the sorrows of the godly after the 
death of Cromwell. The grand dedication 
which he made of himself to God, gave him 
great power over the lives of the members 
of his congregation. His people acted from 
a diviner principle than was common in 
those days, and which they drew into them- 
selves from their minister. Full of a grand 
energy, he animated his Church even in the 



204 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



last glimmer of his earthly life. He was 
also a man capable of deep affection. In his 
sermons and writings he speaks from the 
heart to the heart; and it is a suggestive 
fact that his last work was an analysis of 
a broken heart. His friends were bound up 
with him by a bond of love which survived the 
test of persecution and the fire of imprison- 
ment. Over the sorrow-stricken members 
of his Church he kept a loving and patient 
oversight. We learn incidentally from his 
sermon on the death of Colonel Underwood, 
that he paid frequent visits to his widow, 
and exercised all the arts of which he was 
master in administering consolation. He 
sets forth the visiting of the widow as 
pure religion. Such a man could not fail to 
bind the hearts of his congregation to him- 
self by a bond which neither time nor 
changing circumstances could ever sever. 
His fame as a preacher was widespread, 



HIS CHARACTER. 



205 



and heartily acknowledged by contempo- 
raries. He was in every way fitted for the 
glorious work he performed — the gathering 
together and building up a noble Christian 
Church ; and we may hope that in some 
vision he was permitted to see the Church 
which he founded increased in numbers a hun- 
dredfold ; engaged in planting out fresh con- 
gregations in new districts ; and bound toge- 
ther by the same sweet bond of union which 
he, two hundred and twenty-three years 
before, first inspired in Pancras, Soper Lane. 

Within a month of Cokayn's death, died 
Richard Baxter, in his seventy-fifth year. 
No positive fact connects these two divines 
together, and, therefore, we have abstained 
from referring to him previously; but their 
courses were so nearly allied, that it may 
be reasonably supposed they knew each 
other personally. 



CHAPTER XII. 



The first " Stated Room " in Hare Court — Erected by John 
Nesbitt — The Title-deeds — Strudwick and Robert Andrews 
first Trustees — The Church Register — Names mentioned — 
Memoranda by Nesbitt — Benjamin Clarke cast out — The 
Change in Fashion — Nesbitt's Assistants — Addison's Satire 
quoted by Macaulay — Nesbitt's Sermons — Hurrion's Sermon 
on Nesbitt — Nesbitt's Ministerial Work — Doctrinal Belief — 
As a Controversialist — Private Life — His long Illness — 
Selects the Text of his Funeral Sermon — His Wish concerning 
Death realised — Dies in his Sixty-seventh Year — Buried in 
Bunhill — Ancient Latin Inscription on his Tomb — Present 
Position of the Vault — Subsequent Ministers in Harecourt. 



HE first building erected by the Church 



was called the " Stated Room," and 
it was in all probability a very modest-looking 
structure. George Cokayn, towards the latter 
part of his life, selected two pieces of ground 
between Redcross Street and Aldersgate 
Street, as the future home of the Church. The 




THE "STATED ROOM." 



207 



land belonged to Sir H. Ashurst, of Water- 
stock, a distinguished Christian. Hare Court 
was then fringed with poplars, and the path- 
way from Aldersgate Street to Redcross 
Street lay between gardens. On the feast day 
of St. Michael the Archangel, 1691, it was 
determined that a room should be erected 
upon one of the plots of ground, and a house 
for the minister upon the other. The chief 
parties to this arrangement were John Nes- 
bitt, the new minister, and John Strudwick 
and Robert Andrews, deacons. Cokayn, no 
doubt, gave his sanction to the arrangement ; 
but it was not until January 13, 169 J, nearly 
two months after his death, that the first legal 
document was drawn up between the con- 
tracting parties. A clause in the indenture 
speaks of " the building then intended to be 
erected upon the said piece or parcel of 
ground as the said John Strudwick and 
Robert Andrews should think needful/' So 



208 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



that George Cokayn never preached in either 
of the two chapels which were erected in 
Hare Court. 

From the appointment of John Nesbitt the 
history of the Church is furnished from very 
different sources than those upon which we 
have previously drawn. Had it not been for 
the discovery of the Church Register, we 
should have known less about Nesbitt's work 
and Church than we now know of George 
Cokayn. There is a list of Church members 
numbering two hundred and seventy-six ; 
and an examination of this presents several 
interesting features. Many of the names 
have a sweet puritanic ring about them 
which are pleasant to read. Grace and Ruth 
Foster, Mercy Greatheede, Grizel Nellwood, 
Patience Wilcox, Sister Janaway, Sister 
Crispe, Hester Ludlow. Sister Underhill was 
a lady who made a bequest to the Church in 
1703. Amongst others are several whose 



CHURCH REGISTER. 



209 



names suggest the continuous connection of 
certain families with Harecourt, from 1696 
to the present year. One of these is Sister 
Mary Spicer. The deacons in 1696 were John 
Strudwick, grocer, Snow Hill ; Joseph Biscoe, 
apothecary, Westminster ; Samuel Irons, bar- 
ber-surgeon, London ; Peter Walker, iron- 
monger, London ; Samuel Reade, merchant, 
London ; Nehemiah Lyde, merchant, Hackney; 
George Cressner, grocer, London ; and Tho- 
mas Nisbett, merchant, London. Brothers 
Fox and Grosvenor also officiated as deacons, 
but their descriptions are not known. The 
name of Brother Robert Andrews does not 
appear ; but an Andrew is mentioned in the 
register with the word " deceased " against it. 
That list bears internal evidence of having 
been written prior to 1696. There is no hand- 
writing similar to it in any other part of the 
book. Names are in the list that do not 
appear amongst the contributors to the 
P 

1 



210 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Church funds in 1696. Against a number of 
the names entries have been made in the 
handwriting of John Nesbitt ; and these reveal 
the inner life of the Church. Two men, 
Brother Briggs and Brother Marshall, Jun., 
have against their names the word " excom- 
municated." This was, probably, owing to 
some theological defect. Against the names 
of Brother Benjamin Clarke and Brother 
Moses Carter are the words u cast out." The 
first of those names corresponds with the 
unfortunate glover of Fleet Street, who swore 
an information against Samuel Wilson, and 
he may be identical with the man afterwards 
"cast out" from the Church. A more 
agreeable series of entries reveal the fact 
that many marriages took place amongst the 
members of the Church. Against the entry 
u Sister Priscilla Rawlins " is written " now 
Nisbett."* Sister Rawlins was, judging from 

* Probably a nephew of John Nesbitt. 



MARRIAGES IN THE CHURCH. 



211 



the amount of her subscriptions, a leading 
member of the Church. Amongst other 
entries to the same effect are Sister Andrews, 
now Greene; Sister Elizabeth Bull,* now 
Threlgall ; Sister Birch, now Coffin ; Sister 
Crooke, now Harrison ; Sister Chadburne, now 
Freeman. The entries are too numerous to 
quote. 

Glancing round the "Stated Room," a 
marked alteration in the fashion of dress 
is noticeable. The long flowing locks of 
natural hair, which gentlemen wore, have 
been supplanted by wigs ; and the ladies' ring- 
lets have given way to a monstrosity built 
up of hair and ornaments. Nesbitt preached 
in a long wig, as shown in his portrait ; but 
flowing locks of natural hair, which his prede- 
cessor wore, were much more graceful. Nes- 

* Elizabeth Bull was daughter of the chapel keeper. In 
1780 Mrs. Green had charge of the chapel, and she was suc- 
ceeded by her daughter, Mrs. Bennett, who was in her seventy- 
first year in 187 1. 



212- THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



bitt lived in a house adjacent to the chapel, 
surrounded by trees and garden ground. His 
salary was £120 a year, paid in quarterly 
instalments. From a very early period of his 
connection with the Church he appears to 
have suffered from ill health. In the Septem- 
ber quarter of 1696 he had no fewer than 
eight assistants who received 10s. for each 
sermon. The names of these are first men- 
tioned in the commencement of 1698. They 
were White, Peirce, Stounds, Clarke, Ash- 
wood, Short, and Wallis. Mr. Matthew 
Clarke was the minister of Miles Lane con- 
gregation, and rendered occasional assistance 
down to 1705. Of the others little or nothing 
is known. The energy and liberality of the 
congregation is apparent from the fact that 
there does not appear to have been any debt 
upon the " Stated Room " five years after its 
erection ; and upon a favourable opportunity 
presenting itself they bought the land on 



THE REV JOHN NESBITT. 



NESBITT S ASSISTANTS. 



213 



which the chapel and parsonage house were 
built for ^525. The congregation rapidly 
increased in numbers and in influence under 
John Nesbitt. 

As a preacher and adviser, Nesbitt rapidly 
became famous ; and Addison " indulged in 
some exquisite pleasantry" at his expense. 
In No. 3 1 7 of the Spectator, he gives extracts 
from a pretended journal of a retired citizen, a 
member of Mr. Nesbitt's congregation. We 
make no apology for reprinting the extracts. 

" Monday, eight o'clock, I put on my 
clothes, and walked into the parlour. 

"Nine o'clock, ditto, tied my knee-string 
and washed my hands. 

" Hours ten, eleven and twelve. Smoked 
three pipes of Virginia. Read the Supple- 
ment and Daily Courant. Things go ill in 
the North. Mr. Nisby's opinion thereupon. 

"One o'clock in the afternoon. Chid Ralph 
for mislaying my tobacco-box. 



2I 4 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



" Two o'clock. Sat down to dinner. Mem. 
Too many plums and no suet. 

" From three to four. Took my afternoon's 
nap. 

"From four to six. Walked into the fields. 
Wind S.S.E. 

"From six to ten. At the club. Mr. Nis- 
by's opinion about the peace. 

" Ten o' clock. Went to bed, slept sound. 

"Tuesday, being holiday, eight o'clock. 
Rose as usual. 

"Nine o'clock. Washed hands and face, 
shaved, put on my double-soled shoes. 

"Ten, eleven, twelve. Took a walk to 
Islington. 

" One. Took a pot of Mother Cob's mild. 

" Between two and three. Returned, dined 
on a knuckle of veal and bacon. Mem. 
Sprouts wanting. 

" Three. Nap as usual. 

"From four to six. Coffee-house. Read 



ADDISON'S SATIRE. 



the news. A dish of twist. Grand vizier 
strangled. 

" From six to ten. At the club. Mr. Nis- 
by's account of the great Turk. 

" Ten. Dream of the grand vizier. Broken 
sleep. 

"Wednesday, eight o'clock. Tongue of 
my shoe-buckle broke. Hands, but not face. 

"Nine. Paid off the butcher's bill. Mem. 
To be allowed for the last leg of mutton. 

"Ten, eleven. At the coffee-house. More 
work in the north. Stranger in a black wig 
asked me how stocks went. 

" From twelve to one. Walked in the 
fields. Wind to the south. 

" From one to two. Smoked a pipe and a 
half. 

" Two. Dined as usual. Stomach good. 

" Three. Nap broke by the falling of a 
pewter dish. Mem. Cook-maid in love, and 
grown careless. 



2l6 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



" From four to six. At the coffee-house. 
Advice from Smyrna that the grand vizier 
was first of all strangled, and afterwards 
beheaded. 

" Six o' clock in the evening. Was half an 
hour in the club before anybody else came. 
Mr. Nisby of opinion that the grand vizier 
was riot strangled the sixth instant. 

"Ten at night. Went to bed. Slept, not 
waking until nine the next morning. 

"Thursday, nine o'clock. Stayed within 
until two o'clock for Sir Timothy, who did not 
bring me my annuity according to his pro- 
mise. 

"Two in the afternoon. Sat down to 
dinner. Loss of appetite. Small-beer sour. 
Beef over-corned. 

" Three. Could not take my nap. 

" Four and five. Gave Ralph a box on the 
ear. Turned off my cook-maid. Sent a 
messenger to Sir Timothy. Mem. I did not 



addison's satire. 



217 



go to the club to-night. Went to bed at nine 
o'clock. 

" Friday. Passed the morning in medita- 
tion upon Sir Timothy, who was with me a 
quarter before twelve. 

"Twelve o'clock. Bought a new head to 
my cane, and a tongue to my buckle. Drank 
a glass of port to recover appetite. 

" Two and three. Dined and slept well. 

" From four to six. Went to the coffee- 
house. Met Mr. Nisby there. Smoked 
several pipes. Mr. Nisby of opinion that 
laced coffee is bad for the head. 

"Six o'clock. At the club as steward. 
Sat late. 

u Twelve o'clock. Went to bed. Dreamt 
that I drank small beer with the grand 
vizier. 

"Saturday. Waked at eleven, walked in 
the fields. Wind N.E. 

" Twelve. Caught in a shower. 



2l8 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



" One in the afternoon. Returned home 
and dried myself. 

"Two. Mr. Nisby dined with me. First 
course, marrow - bones ; second, ox-cheek, 
with a bottle of Brooks and Hellier. 

" Three. Overslept myself. 

" Six. Went to the club. Like to have 
fallen into a gutter. Grand vizier certainly 
dead." 

The picture of a life filled with " incon- 
siderable actions," was shown to perfection in 
the extract ; and infinite amusement was 
caused at the same time by the playful satire 
upon Mr. Nesbitt, whose fondness for good 
living was, no doubt, a slander. 

In 1705, the Rev. James Naylor succeeded 
the Rev. Matthew Clarke as assistant preacher, 
and he died of consumption within three years, 
in the twenty-ninth year of his age, and was 
buried in Bunhill Fields. Various supplies 
were obtained as the necessity arose from 



nesbitt's sermons. 



219 



1708 to 1 7 10, and in the latter year the Rev. 
John Conder became assistant pastor. Mr. 
Conder occupied the same position throughout 
the ministerial career of the Rev. John Hur- 
rion and the Rev. Samuel Bruce, and died 
in 1744, four years after the appointment of 
the Rev. Dr. King. 

Out of six sermons which were published 
by Nesbitt four are now in existence. In the 
British Museum there are two. His sermon 
to young men, preached April 6, 1 7 13 ; and a 
sermon on the death of the Rev. John Russell, 
preached at Newington Green in 17 14. At 
Dr. Williams's library are a funeral sermon for 
the Rev. Thomas Rouge, preached in 1700; 
and a sermon to young women, delivered in 
1 7 1 6. 

The best outline of Nesbitt's career is 
supplied by his successor, the Rev. John 
Hurrion (appointed in 1724), who preached 
the funeral sermon, October 29, 1727. Upon 



220 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



this occasion, the text was from Col. iii. 3, 
" Your life is hid with Christ in God." At the 
close of the sermon, which is a very fine one, 
he read the following touching story of the 
life, work, and death of Nesbitt : — 

"These words/' the words of the text, 
" were chosen by my late reverend brother, 
and your excellent pastor, to be preached 
on, after his decease. They are very suit- 
able to his sentiments, experience, and the 
circumstance of his case. He had long 
enjoyed a vigorous and useful life, which 
promised as many years of future service 
as most of his age could hope for ; but, by 
a very sudden and surprising stroke, it was 
threatened with being immediately taken 
away, making it evident that all the glory of 
man is as the flower of the grass, which 
fades away. God was pleased, after some 
time, to grant him a revival of his intellectual 
faculties, and an opportunity and ability to 



hurrion's sermon ON NESBITT. 221 



reflect upon the frailty of natural life, and on 
the security of that unseen, supernatural, 
and eternal life, which believers have with 
Christ in God. The comfort and support 
which this gave him, together with the ex- 
cellency and usefulness of the subject in- 
clined him, as I suppose, to recommend it 
to you by the mouth of another, when he 
himself should be silent in the dust. 

" Had it pleased God to have granted the 
many ardent requests for his recovery, which, 
in this place and elsewhere, were put up to 
Him, our prayers would have been turned 
into praises, and we might have now met 
together with a joy equal to our present 
sorrow. But seeing God has seen fit to put 
an end to his servant's patience, and our 
supplications for him, by taking him out of 
this world, it becomes us to submit to the 
all-wise and sovereign arbiter of life and 
and death, who has now, after almost five 



222 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



years' waiting at the door, admitted him into 
the joy of his Lord ; and as he has desired, 
on the day of God's holy rest on earth, he 
began his everlasting rest in heaven. 

" This worthy person, the Rev. Mr. John 
Nesbitt, was, as I am informed, born in 
Northumberland, October 6, A.D. 1661 ; his 
parents, designing him for the ministry, sent 
him to the university at Edinburgh, but he 
had not been there long before he was obliged 
to leave it, on the account of his zeal for the 
Protestant religion, which he had discovered 
in the most public manner, when the Duke of 
York, afterwards King James II., was present. 
This laid a foundation for his future troubles. 
As he and some others, forced by the iniquity 
of the times, to seek shelter in a strange 
land, were going from London for Holland, 
they were seized, and commited close prisoners 
to the Marshalsea.* There he was laid in 

* There is no record of this amongst the State Papers. 



nesbitt's early troubles. 223 



irons, and confined for more than four months 
in hopes of making him an evidence ; but 
though he was then under twenty years of age, 
God gave him grace and courage enough to 
withstand many advantageous offers, made 
him by the King in council. 

" During his confinement he had no books 
in the prison with him, except his Bible, 
which he was forced to conceal, lest it should 
be taken from him. In this afflicting solitude 
he read the Scriptures much, and was very 
ready in them, and God was with him. His 
presence made the prison a palace to him, as 
he has since often declared. His enemies 
not being able to prove anything against 
him, he was set at liberty, and then he went 
to Holland to finish his studies ; there he laid 
in a good stock of useful learning, God having 
blessed him with a very quick apprehension, 
a rich fancy, a strong memory, and a solid 
judgment. He was very well read in classic 



224 THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



authors, and thoroughly versed in history, 
and was not unacquainted with the ancient 
Christian writers, and the state of the Church 
in different ages. He had an exact know- 
ledge of the Greek tongue, as I am informed, 
by one who is able to judge, and who was very 
intimate with him. Few of his contempo- 
raries in the ministry equalled him in learn- 
ing, and none could be less guilty of ostenta- 
tion that way than he. He was respected on 
this account by all men of letters, though of 
different sentiments from his. 

" He entered young upon the ministry, with 
great acceptation, which (though not very 
usual) was continued to the last, not only 
among his own people, but wherever he 
occasionally laboured. Asa preacher he was 
qualified with excellent gifts ; he had a 
natural vivacity, strong sense, lively affec- 
tions, and a ready utterance, a very close 
and striking way of expression, and, which 



HIS MINISTERIAL QUALIFICATIONS. 225 



I take to be far greater, he was favoured with 
a great presence of God with him in his 
work, which made it pleasant and delightful 
both to himself and his hearers, wherever he 
came. His acquaintance with the Scriptures 
was very great, and his explication and 
application of them in preaching ver)^ 
judicious and affecting ; his citations from 
them would often be very surprising, and 
his allusions to passages in them very beau- 
tiful ; the similitudes he used were very apt 
and ingenious, suited to fix the matter upon 
the mind. He was both an able and faithful 
minister, who knew how to divide the word 
aright, and to give to every one his proper 
portion. In trying the spiritual state of his 
hearers, he would be very close and search- 
ing. And they must be dreadfully stupid and 
hardened who could, under his preaching, go 
on in a course of sin. How would he de- 
nounce the threatenings of God against 
Q 



226 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



hypocrites, with a Christ-like zeal and in- 
dignation ! And yet he was very skilful in 
speaking a word in season to weary and 
wounded souls, leading them to trust in the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and to stay themselves on 
Him, the great God of their salvation. His 
discourses were well composed and digested, 
and were the fruits of hard study. He did 
not amuse the people with useless curiosities, 
nor put them off with chaff instead of the 
solid grain ; he fed them with the sincere milk 
of the word, that they might grow thereby. 

" He often preached on practical points, but 
in an evangelical way, teaching his hearers 
to derive their strength for duty, their motives 
to it, and delight in it, from a crucified and 
risen Jesus, which was his professed and 
most delightful subject. He was much dis- 
pleased with what some call practical preach- 
ing, which, he used to say, he took to be a 
drooping of the Christian faith, and sinking 



HIS DOCTRINAL BELIEF. 



227 



below some heathen moralists. One upon 
his death-bed charged his friend to let Mr. 
Nesbitt know that he blessed God for his 
ministry, which brought him to a clear and 
saving knowledge of Christ in his person 
and all his offices, * which/ said he, 4 1 had 
never attained, though I had been a Church 
member many years, till I came to it under 
Mr. Nesbitt' s ministry.' 

" He had a well-digested knowledge of the 
doctrines of the Gospel, and strictly adhered 
to them to the very last ; such as the doctrine 
of the Trinity in Unity, the union of the 
Divine and human natures in the person of 
Christ, the absolute sovereignty of God's 
electing love, and the fulness of his effica- 
cious grace ; the covenant of grace as made 
with Christ, and with all the elect in Him ; 
the justification of a sinner before God by 
the righteousness of Christ alone, with the 
rest of those doctrines commonly called Cal- 



228 



THE STORY OF HARE COURT. 



vinistic. He was well acquainted with the 
state of the controversies which had been 
raised as to these momentous points, and had 
a very happy way of exposing the absurdi- 
ties which they who oppose the truth run 
into, under pretences of making things above 
reason more pleasing to what men of corrupt 
minds take the liberty to call reason. As he 
learned his faith from the Scriptures, and was 
for going no further in explaining mysteries 
than he gained light from thence, so he was 
not afraid or ashamed to own what he be- 
lieved, or to stand up for it when attacked. 
In the close of the last century, the contro- 
versy relating to the doctrine of justification 
ran high : then he stood by the ancient faith, 
and appeared as bold as any one against 
innovations; and at the same time joined with 
four others of his brethren, in declaring openly 
against antinomian errors. In the late un- 
happy disputes concerning the Trinity, he 



AS A CONTROVERSIALIST. 



229 



cheerfully bore his testimony against any 
attempt to give up a doctrine of the last 
importance, and he thought it no absurdity 
to subscribe with his hand the doctrine 
which he believed in his heart and preached 
to the people. 

" When he was about twenty-nine or thirty 
years of age, he accepted of a call to the 
pastoral office in this Church, which he dis- 
charged for more than thirty years together 
with great faithfulness, diligence, and success, 
in all which time, I am told, he never missed 
the administration of the Lord's Supper at 
the usual seasons above once or twice, and 
was very seldom absent from his own pulpit 
on a Lord's day. His labours were abun- 
dantly blessed for conversion and edification, 
of which there are yet many living witnesses. 
As a faithful shepherd, he watched over the 
flock with tenderness and compassionate 
regard to the meanest of them. 



230 THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



" In his judgments as to Church discipline, 
he was what is called congregational, and in 
the management of Church affairs he acted 
with great wisdom and prudence, and a great 
regard to the good of his people. He never 
lorded it over God's heritage, but allowed 
the people their just rights ; yet he would not 
by insults be prevailed upon to give up his 
own, nor permit any to despise him, well 
knowing that the authority as well as the 
gentleness of a pastor is for the good of the 
Church. He was a great lover of peace, 
which, to the Church's honour and his comfort, 
was enjoyed during his time in as great a 
degree as in any Church of their standing. 
When any difference arose he always en- 
deavoured by proper methods to stifle them 
in the beginning, and as he had the welfare 
of his people much at heart, so there were 
few, if any, who were more reverenced and 
loved by their people than he was. 



HIS GENEROSITY. 



2 3 I 



" His temper was truly generous : he hated, 
as he used to say, a narrow, sordid spirit, 
and was far from being guilty of it himself. 
He provided for his family, not by laying up, 
but by laying out, casting his bread upon 
the waters, which God returned again, not 
in many days, but in few. I am informed by 
one who well knew, that he always gave 
away a tenth part of his income to charitable 
uses. He was very liberal to the poor, 
especially to poor ministers in the country, 
for whom he often pleaded with great 
earnestness and success in public; and on 
all occasions he was ready to show kindness 
to them, and to do all he could to encourage 
and support young men designed for or 
entering upon the ministry, who were found 
in the faith and like to be useful. His 
humanity and compassion, improved and 
heightened by grace, disposed him to give 
all the relief and comfort he was able, 



232 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



to all the distressed that came under his 
care. 

" His natural temper, which was quick and 
warm, was so much under the government of 
prudence and grace, that he could command 
it to admiration. And, as I am informed by 
more than one, if his anger was justly drawn 
out, he would be the first in showing a 
willingness to be at peace ; an example very 
worthy of imitation. 

" His conversation was such as became the 
Gospel, and he adorned the doctrine of God 
his Saviour. He was a great redeemer of 
time, and, as one worthy of credit has told me, 
was never observed to spend an hour in a 
trifling manner. His visits were generally 
short, but very agreeable and useful. His 
advice, both as to things relating to this 
world and another, was very proper, 
judicious, and valuable. He filled up the 
relations of private life well ; he was a tender 



HIS PRIVATE LIFE. 



233 



and loving husband and parent, and ad- 
ministered advice and reproof to his children 
as there was occasion, not approving of any- 
thing in any of them that was dishonourable 
to the Gospel. His conduct as a master was 
such as commanded the love and respect of 
his servants. 

" Though his sermons were received with 
general approbation, and he was much 
pressed to print many of them, yet, such was 
his modesty that he never could be prevailed 
upon to publish more than six, three oc- 
casioned by the deaths of ministers who 
were his particular friends, and three preached 
to young persons. 

" Some time before he was taken ill, he used 
to say his work was done, and that very 
night he felt the distemper coming upon 
him, he prayed in the family very earnestly, 
that the Lord would not lay upon him more 
than He would enable him to bear. Which 



234 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



request was wonderfully answered, for during 
the whole time of his illness, he showed great 
calmness and resignation to the will of God, 
never murmuring at his hand, but patiently 
waiting for his dismission from this to a 
better world. When the time came, his 
departure was sudden, the king of terrors 
did not keep him long in hand. He has 
finished his course, and we have reason to 
think he is entered into the joy of his Lord." 

There is a preface to the sermon, which 
is addressed to Mrs. Elizabeth Nesbitt, and 
in the course of it, several additional facts 
concerning her husband are mentioned. By 
the first shock of illness Nesbitt lost his 
reason ; but " senses and reason " were not 
only restored, after a time, but he enjoyed 
freedom from pain; and a marvellous com- 
posure of mind. During the five years of his 
illness, the Church cheerfully raised a " hand- 
some supply" for his needs; and a public 



HIS ILLNESS AND DEATH. 



235 



funeral was proposed, but declined by his 
widow, in accordance with her husband's in- 
structions. 

Nesbitt preached in Hare Court about 
thirty-seven years, and died in his seventy- 
fifth year. Like his predecessor, Nesbitt was 
borne by loving hands to Bunhill Fields, 
and was there interred in a vault. A Latin 
inscription was cut upon the gravestone ; but 
no perfect copy now exists. The stone was 
broken into fragments when Dr. John Ripon 
made a copy of the inscriptions some time 
prior to 1790. In accordance with the singu- 
lar practice of the authorities, a new vault 
was erected upon the top of Nesbitt' s, and the 
name of the original occupant of the ground 
was not preserved. The exact position of the 
grave appears in Dr. Ripon's MS. at Heralds' 
College, and the spot* is easily traced. On 
the top vault is cut the name " Clifford." 
* E. W. 55, N. S. 6. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Sketch of Ministers from 1727 to 1859. 



'HE points of difference between Cokayn 



and Nesbitt are strongly marked. They 
were fitted for work of a very different charac- 
ter ; and each found the greatest play for his 
talents in that he had to perform. Nesbitt 
would have failed to create a congregation in 
the way that Cokayn did; and Cokayn shrank 
from those controversies which Nesbitt suc- 
cessfully maintained. Nesbitt convinced by 
the force of argument, where Cokayn won 
by the tenderness of his words. Cokayn 
touched the heart, Nesbitt the intellect. 
Cokayn did not lack learning, and by it he 
enriched his mind with imagery, while Nesbitt 




COKAYN AND NESBITT CONTRASTED. 237 



fortified his with reasons. Cokayn made the 
hearts of his hearers tender, and stored them 
with love. Nesbitt built round those hearts 
impregnable walls, and mounted arguments 
thereon. The age of Cokayn was one of patient 
suffering, that of Nesbitt earnest resistance. 
In the earlier period hearts were wanted ; in 
the latter intellects. The work of each was 
necessary to the other, and by both the Church 
was built up and established. The congre- 
gation loved Cokayn as a father, they fol- 
lowed Nesbitt as a guide. By Cokayn every 
member of his Church was made loving and 
helpful to his neighbour ; by Nesbitt the 
Church was turned into a school of reasoners. 
Cokayn would have given shelter and refresh- 
ment to a Papist flying from his persecutors, 
and sent him away with God's blessing ; 
Nesbitt, if one had come in his way, would 
have plied the man with argument, and 
anathematized him at parting, if he had not; 



238 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



succeeded in proving to his acceptance that 
the Pope was Antichrist. 

George Cokayn never would have " excom- 
municated " or " cast out " a member of the 
Church ; he would have dealt with wandering 
and erring brothers by quite as effectual but 
more loving measures ; but John Nesbitt 
exercised the penal functions of his office 
without remorse. His had been the educa- 
tion of the head ; and his brain was the first 
portion of his body to fail. The activity of 
his mind wore out his mental powers long 
before his body decayed. By the manner in 
which the members of his Church surrounded 
him with the offices of love, long after he 
ceased to minister to the congregation, is 
proved how deeply he had won their respect. 
He was exact in his conversation, and dogma- 
tic, even in the matter of " laced coffee." In 
his religious opinions he never changed ; and 
he infused the same solidity into the members 



SUCCESSORS OF NESBITT. 



239 



of his Church. His assistants in the minis- 
terial work must have been subjected to 
severe cross-examinations before they were 
admitted to his pulpit. 

His wife survived him, but how long it is 
hardly possible to discover now. From the 
death of her husband the history of Hare- 
court is contained in such outlines of the 
lives of the succeeding ministers as have been 
handed down to us. We know very little of 
the life of the Church, the work of the 
deacons, the zeal of Church members, the 
accession of converts, after the time of Nesbitt 
until quite a recent period. We are, however, 
warranted in believing that God's work was 
zealously carried on by recalling the previous 
and present history of the Church. 

Of the ministers who followed Nesbitt the 
succeeding sketches, written by Dr. Raleigh 
in i860, supply particulars. 

For some years Mr. Nesbitt was assisted by 



240 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



the Rev. Matthew Clark, of Miles Lane, as 
also by the Rev. James Naylor, who died of 
consumption at the early age of twenty-nine ; 
and by the Rev. John Conder, who continued 
his services in the same capacity under suc- 
ceeding pastors until his death in 1744. 

The Rev. John Hurrion succeeded Mr. 
Nesbitt in the pastoral office. Of him it is 
written that " as a Divine he was as judicious 
and accomplished as any that appeared in his 
age." He was particularly well read in the 
Socinian controversy, and discovered a 
singular ability in the exposition and defence 
of the doctrine of the Trinity. He came to 
London too late in life to achieve any high 
success as a minister. He was ripe in 
scholarship, of high character, and of good 
report in all the Churches, but having been 
nearly thirty years in the ministry, his 
" natural force " must have suffered some 
" abatement," and after a comparatively short 



HURRION AND BRUCE. 



24I 



period of service in the ministry of Hare- 
court, often interrupted by illness, he ended 
his days in peace. He desired that it should 
be communicated to the world that "he died 
in the firm persuasion and belief of those 
great doctrines which he had preached and 
maintained without the least hesitation, and 
that he found more comfort from them in his 
last sickness than ever he had done before." 
Dr. Ridgley preached his funeral sermon 
from the text, " He was a burning and a 
shining light " (John v. 35). 

He was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Bruce, 
a young man of unusual grace and promise. 
The short account we have of him seems to 
light up his image to us with a wonderful 
beauty. He was learned, serious, fervent, 
and much consecrated to his work. He had 
received his academical training partly in 
Sheffield and partly in London under the care 
of Dr. Ridgley. He began to preach while 
R 



242 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



very young, and seems to have had large 
acceptance from the first. After some years 
of experience in the ministry, as assistant to 
the Rev. Daniel Mayo, of Kingston, Surrey, 
he accepted the invitation which was pre- 
sented to him to succeed Mr. Hurrion at Hare- 
court. Only for five short years was he 
permitted to labour there ; and then, amid the 
deep and affectionate sorrows of his people, 
and surrounded by much fruit of his ministry, 
at the early age of twenty-seven, " this able 
and useful minister left this transitory life for 
a world of immortal glory." He died on the 
5th of December, 1737. 

The Rev. William King, D.D., was the next 
in succession in the ministry of Harecourt. 
His parents were eminent for their piety, and 
trained their son with a view to the sacred 
office, if God by his grace should call. Their 
wish happily became his purpose, and after a 
previous course of studies, he was sent to the 



DR. KING. 



243 



University of Utrecht in Holland, where his 
theological education was completed, and 
where he first began to preach. On returning 
to England, he was settled at Chisham, Bucks, 
where, by ministerial labours, and in other 
ways, he seems to have been very useful. 
While there, he had repeated offers of prefer- 
ment in the Established Church ; but he could 
not conscientiously fall in with the terms of 
conformity. It was in the year 1740 that Mr. 
King removed to London, and became suc- 
cessor to Mr. Bruce, and he continued in 
office and in various usefulness for nearly 
thirty years. He was one of the preachers of 
the Merchants' Lecture at Pinner's Llall for 
many years. He suffered much during the 
last years of his life, but preached to his 
people on the Lord's day immediately preced- 
ing his death. The text of that day was 
remarkable as consisting of but one word, 
"NOW," taken from the last verse of the 



244 THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



Epistle of Jude. He had preached several 
discourses from that verse, and he meant to 
preach another from the word " EVER," but 
before the Sabbath came he was called into 
that eternity of which he intended to speak. 
Dr. King is buried in Bunhill Fields. 

The Church after a vacancy of about a year 
chose as minister the Rev. Joseph Popple- 
well, who had been born and educated in 
Yorkshire, and was settled in the ministry at 
Nottingham. He continued in London only 
two years and a half; some differences then 
arising between the people and him, he 
returned into Yorkshire, and died at Beverley. 

The Rev. Joshua Webb began his ministry 
in 1775, and ended it in the year 1820. The 
Rev. John Davies succeeded Mr. Webb, and 
continued until 1826. The Rev. William 
Sterne Palmer was the last minister of Hare- 
court during its continuance in Aldersgate 
Street; he began his work there in 1827, and 



POPPLEWELL, DAVIES, WEBB, PALMER. 245 



died in 1852. Of these last three respected 
ministers there are no written memorials, but 
there are those alive who can remember them 
all, and who would willingly testify that they 
were " workmen needing not to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the word of truth " — worthy 
successors of those great and good men who 
had gone before them. 

From 1852 to 1859, various supplies were 
provided. On the first Sabbath of the latter 
year, the present ministry, under Dr. Raleigh, 
began. 



APPENDIX. 



OUTLINE OF THE SERMON PREACHED 
BY GEORGE COKAYN, 

AT ST. MARGARET'S, WESTMINSTER, 

NOVEMBER 29, I 648, 

BEFORE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 

" I have said, Ye are gods : and all of you are children of the 
Most High : but ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the 
princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth : for thou shalt inherit 
all nations." — Psalm lxxxii. 6 — 8. 



ONSIDER two deadly enemies :— I. The flesh ; 
and, II. The spirit. 



INTRODUCTION. 




I. The flesh. 

a. In its exaltation. 

b. In its humiliation. 



248 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



II. The Spirit. 

a. In His preparation. 

b. In His work. 

c. In His authority. 

EXPOSITION OF TEXT. 

III. Why are magistrates and rulers called gods? 

a. For their simplicity and entireness. 

b. For light and knowledge. 

c. For righteousness and justice. 

d. In relation to mercy. 

e. In full rest and satisfaction. 

IV. What are the symptoms of death in a dying 

ruler? 

a. All his senses are lost ; he neither sees, 
hears, smells, tastes, nor handles. 

V. God prepares Himself to judge. 

1. God ariseth; that is, He ariseth from sleep. 

a. He ariseth from a state of retirement. 

b. He ariseth from a state of forgetfulness. 

c. When a man is asleep he is unwilling to 

receive petitioners. 

2. God ariseth from a state of humiliation. 
a. When great men die, God ariseth. 



APPENDIX. 



249 



b. Notwithstanding God's exaltation, his people 
are not farther off from His goodness 
and love. 

VI. God doth not arise to be idle ; but He ariseth 
to judge. 

a. He will plead all causes Himself. 

b. He will also determine all causes. 

c. When God hath determined all causes, 

He will also maintain what He hath 
done. 

d. God will avenge all. 

VII. God judges the earth in two ways : imme- 
diately, or mediately. 



GENERAL APPLICATION. 

I. Will the Lord judge ? 
II. Shall God judge ? 

III. Doth God judge ? 

IV. Christ, by hereditary right, shall possess all 
nations, in all they have and are. 

a. He shall inherit the obedience of all 

nations. 

b. He shall inherit all their wealth. 

c. He shall inherit the praises of all nations. 

d. He shall inherit all our joy. 



250 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



PARTICULAR APPLICATION. 

I. Let the people of a nation in the greatest 

confusions wait upon God. ! 
II. Let all magistrates and rulers 

a. Begin and judge themselves. 

b. Let them not delay to act for the people's 

good. 

c. Let them act with much tenderness and 

sweetness towards all those whom God 
hath honoured in their preservation and 
protection. 

d. Be willing to hear God when He speaks in 

His providences. 

e. Be constant in communion with God. 

/. Take heed not to oppose the Spirit of God, 
and the spiritual worship of God. 



DIVINE ASTROLOGY; 



OR, 

A SCEIPTURE PROGNOSTICATION OF THE SAD 
EVENTS WHICH ORDINARILY ARISE FROM 
THE GOOD MAN'S FALL BY DEATH. 

being the substance of a sermon preached in 
Stephen's, walbrook, January 19, 1657, at the 
funeral of the honourable colonel william 
underwood, one of the aldermen of the city 
of london. 

By GEORGE COKAYN, 

AN UNWORTHY TEACHER OF THE GOSPEL AT PANCRAS, SOPER LANE, 
LONDON. 



London : Printed by Robert White for Thomas Brewster, at 
the sign of " The Three Bibles," at the west end of Pauls, 
Anno Dom. 1658. 



EXTRACTS FROM PREFACE AND SERMON. 
To a Widow. 

" O look up with a believing heart to Him who is 
touched with the feelings of our infirmities ; by whom, 
as afflictions abound, so consolations abound also. 
Let nothing but faith take off your mourning weeds : 
if you come forth out of God's furnace in the exer- 
cise of that gospel grace, you will be as pure gold 



252 THE STORY GF HARECGURT. 



purged from your dross. You should diligently 
observe the Church's posture when she came forth 
out of the wilderness of tribulations. She came, 
says the text, ' leaning upon her beloved.' This 
phrase, ' leaning upon her beloved,' notes not only 
confidence and recumbency, but familiarity also • as 
the wife throws herself into the arms of her husband. 
Thus do you come forth out of your wilderness, lean- 
ing upon your spiritual husband with the recumbency 
and familiarity of a true faith. But take heed you do 
not lean upon Christ as the apricot-tree doth upon 
the wall, when all the while its root is in the earth. 
Surely the Lord calls you by this rod to be a greater 
stranger and pilgrim in the world than ever ; and that 
you should be rooted more in Christ, and live in Him 
in whom dwelleth earth's and heaven's fulness." 

God's Care of the Widow. 

"God doth in an especial manner protect the 
widow. He will in this respect be a husband to 
her, and see that none shall afflict her. Observe 
what strict charge He gives about her ; ' Ye shall not,' 
says he, ' afflict (any) widow or fatherless child. If 
thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto 
me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath shall 
wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword.' You see 
with how much care and tenderness the Lord doth 



APPENDIX. 



2 53 



shelter every widow under the shadow of his wings. He 
daily provides for her. She may go with an especial 
freedom to God's treasury, and receive whatsoever is 
requisite for her. The Lord still gives her a share in 
all the distributions He makes to others. The Lord 
will have her to reap'something of what He hath given 
to others, and to enter into part of their harvest. He 
will establish to her all that He gives her. The estate 
she hath in the world, be it little or much, is better 
settled than any others. ' He establisheth,' says the 
text, ' the border of the widow ; ' the utmost border 
and skirt of her estate which lies furtherest off, and 
may possibly be most desperate, the Lord will esta- 
blish as well as that which is nearest to her, and seems 
to be most fair. What she hath, God will take care 
it shall not decrease. It was the widow's oil in the 
cruse, and the widow's meal in the barrel, that did not 
waste. In case any molest her about her title to what 
she enjoys, God will be judge, and speak, yea, deter- 
mine all on her side : therefore it is said, ' He is the 
widow's judge, and He executes the judgment of the 
widow.' Her name in Hebrew comes from a word 
which signifies to be dumb or silent ; she cannot, now 
her head is cut off, speak for herself ; therefore God 
undertakes to plead effectually for her. God looks 
upon the least expression of tenderness in any towards 
her as a signal act of goodness and religion towards 



254 THE STORY GF HARECOURT. 



Himself. To give but a visit to the fatherless and 
widows is accounted by the Apostle pure religion and 
undefiled before God and the Father. Observe here 
how visitings of the fatherless and widow hath ob- 
tained not only the name, but the very definition of 
religion." 

On Worldly Honours. 

" ' Brethren,' saith the Apostle, ' the time is short, 
it remaineth that both they that have wives, be as 
though they had none ; and they that weep, as though 
they wept not ; and they that rejoice, as though they 
rejoiced not ; and they that buy, as though they pos- 
sessed not ; and they that use this world, as not abus- 
ing it, for the fashion of this world passeth away/ 
Observe here how the Apostle endeavours to take off 
the saints from a too eager pursuit of this world upon 
this argument, because the time is short. The word 
in the Greek is metaphorical, and taken from the 
custom of mariners, who fold up their sails when they 
come near the port ; even so our time is as it were 
folded up, therefore our hearts should be loosened 
from the vanities of this world when we are making 
into our port of happiness and glory. And it is no 
less ridiculous for us to make a bustle about the 
honours and preferments of this world. The greatest 
worldly honour is but a bubble, and thou thyself art 



APPENDIX. 



255 



another. The noble and the ignoble dust are both 
alike in the grave ; the poorest cottager is, in that 
state, upon the same level with the greatest courtier. 
You that are ambitious for honours here, remember 
the grave is an open sepulchre, which will swallow you 
and them too in a moment. Severus the emperor, 
looking upon his urn, made this expression : ' Thou 
shalt contain him whom the whole world could not 
contain.' It is a vain thing, therefore, to let your 
hearts run out to worldly preferments, seeing a mo- 
ment's enjoyment thereof cannot be secured to you. 
The gallows brought up the rear of all Haman's court 
advancements." 

On Trust in Great Men. 

" It is vain to trust in great men, for they must die. 
If they live, they may prove a broken reed to thee, 
but be sure they will die, and then what thou didst 
build upon them falls with them. You, then, that sell 
your consciences to great men for their favour, upon 
which you lean very hard, what will you do when that 
reed is broken ? When an old house falls, how many 
rats must shift for themselves ? Therefore remember 
David's counsel : ' Put not your trust in princes, nor 
in the son of man in whom there is no help. His 
breath goeth forth, he returneth to his dust ; in that 
very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he who hath 



256 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



the God of Jacob for his help ; whose hope is in the 
Lord his God.' You may expect much possibly from 
your interest in men of high degree in the world ; but 
know this, that they have no more security for an 
hour's life than he that sits upon the dunghill." 

Upon Trust in Good Men. 

" It is as vain to trust in good men, for the 
righteous die, and the merciful man is taken away. 
Godly men are the jewels and earrings, of a nation, 
but take heed you make not an idol of them, as Israel 
once did. Though there should be no abatement in 
their goodness to the very last (which, from the ex- 
amples of former and present times especially, we can 
hardly hope for), yet there is no depending upon 
them, Because we are sure they must go down to the 
dust of death. Yea, our trusting in them is a means 
to carry them away sooner. God will have no rival ; 
we wither the sweetest flowers by smelling too much 
to them. If we idolise our gourd, God can soon 
prepare a worm to smite it that it die." 

Meditation upon Death. 

" Often meditate upon death as a thing which will 
certainly overtake you. God hath solemnly proclaimed 
that ' all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof 
as the flower of the field.' The grass wi there th, and 



APPENDIX. 



257 



the flower fadeth. The flower of the field withers 
sooner than that which is enclosed in the garden. 
Such a flower (saith the prophet here) is ' all flesh 
and the goodliness thereof.' A Nestor's and a Me- 
thuselah's age must have an end. Though thy age 
be like a summer's day, yet it must have a night. 
Therefore it would be much wisdom in us to consider 
our latter end. We should think every day to be our 
last day. It is reported of one who was invited to go 
to a feast the next day, that he gave this answer : 
' For many years together I have not had a to-morrow.' 
Therefore let us diligently observe Solomon's counsel, 
' Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not 
what a day may bring forth.' The young as well as 
the old should mind this, for many times the young 
ones make greater haste to the grave than'the old 
ones. The Hebrews have a proverb that the old 
camels do often carry the young camels' skins to the 
market. Therefore let us all make death the constant 
subject of our meditation. The putting death far from 
us brings sin too near us; the hearkening to the devil's 
doctrine when he preached, ' Ye shall not surely die,' 
was the sad inlet to all manner of transgression." 

An Inspiration to Work. 

" Death should put us upon it to work hard while 
we live, for we know not how soon death may come. 
S 



258 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



The continual thoughts of death will put life into your 
actions. When Paul was at Troas he preached till mid- 
night, because he was to depart on the morrow. What a 
long sermon did Christ preach in the 12th, 13th, 14th, 
15th, 1 6th, and 17th chapters of John, in one even- 
ing, because He was to suffer the next day ! Observe 
what He Himself testifies in this case : ' I must work 
the works of Him that sent me, while it is day : ' says 
He, ' the night cometh, when no man can work.' This 
is that which puts the devil himself upon vigorous 
action, because he knoweth he hath but a short time." 

On the Death of Good Men. 

" The taking away of righteous and good men is a 
sad and angry dispensation of God towards a people. 
Oh, thi^s one of the sharpest arrows He hath in his 
quiver. I tell you, the taking away of one holy man 
is a thousand times more significant than the making 
of heaps upon heaps of the slain Philistines. We will 
show you, in a few particulars, wherein this is so sad 
and angry a dispensation. Saints do possess all 
things. God hath made this whole world for Christ 
and his Church, and it is for their sakes that the 
creation affords anything that is either useful or com- 
fortable to the several species that are in it. 'All 
things,' says the Apostle, ' are yours.' There would 
be no gospel, no Spirit, either in Paul or a Cephas, to 



APPENDIX. 



259 



reveal this gospel, were it not for the Church, and so 
for all other mercies, either spiritual or temporal. 
Were but the whole number of God's elect once 
gathered out of the world, and translated into the 
kingdom which is above, we should soon see an end 
of all the glory and perfection of this world." 

Death of the Good : A Prognostication. 

" God doth usually take away his saints and people 
from some evil that is to come. He brings home his 
stock of corn into the barn before the storm comes. 
Do you see God make haste to gather his people 
apace into rest ? be assured that the destroying angel 
is upon the wing, ready to execute his commission 
upon the world. God takes his people away from the 
evil of sin which is to come. The Lord will riot suffer 
his children to live to see that which would break 
their hearts, and be worse to them than ten thousand 
deaths. God would not let the old honest generation 
that had seen and been actors in the wonderful things 
which He wrought for them by Joshua, live to see 
that grand apostacy which we find upon record in 
Judges ii. 10, 11. God would not suffer his people 
who were engaged with Joshua in his good old cause, 
to live to see a new upstart generation turn aside from 
following the Lord and build again the things which 
(they) had destroyed. I wish that something of this 



260 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



kind be not preached this day to England, in the 
taking away of so many of our old experienced cham- 
pions for our spiritual and civil liberties. Sure we 
are, they are taken away from some evil of sin. David 
shall not live to see the apostacy of his son Solomon. 
Neither shall Hezekiah live to see the unparalleled 
wickedness of his son Manasseh. Jehoiada died 
before that grand apostacy in Joash his time. Paul 
did not live to see the Church at Ephesus leave her 
first love, whereof he prophesied a little before his 
death, and which John saw made good and testified 
against it. God takes them away from the evil of 
punishment. When God intends to disturb the world, 
He calls his people beforehand to rest in their beds. 
Methuselah dies that year in which the flood came. 
Elisha dies a little before the Moabites invaded the 
land. Hezekiah must have peace in his days, and be 
removed from the sad judgments which were after- 
wards inflicted upon Judah. See also what favour the 
Lord showed to good Josiah in this case. ' Behold,' 
saith the Lord, ' I will gather thee unto thy fathers, 
and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace, 
and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will 
bring upon this place.' Thus graciously did God deal 
also with Jehoiada, who was taken away by death 
immediately before the wrath of the Lord brake forth 
against Judah for the sins of Joash and the people." 



APPENDIX. 



26l 



Examples gf Latter Times. 

"Augustine died immediately before Hyppo, the 
city where he lived, was taken by the Vandals ; and 
so Pareus, before the taking of Hydelburg. In like 
manner Luther, who prophesied of the wars in Ger- 
many, prayed often to the Lord that he might not 
live to see them, wherein God heard him, and he was 
by death taken away from that sore evil to come. 
Our own times have afforded us many instances of 
like nature, had we but laid them to heart. A little 
before these wars it was observed that many eminent 
men were taken away by death, upon which, some 
considering, serious, good men did prognosticate some 
great and sore troubles to be even at the door, which 
we have seen made good ; and the Lord grant that a 
worse event may not receive life from the death of so 
many righteous and merciful men as these two last 
years have sent to the house of the grave." 

Woe to England. 

" Woe, woe to that nation or city, from the midst 
of whom the Lord takes away his own precious ser- 
vants. I must upon this account proclaim the ven- 
geance of the Lord against England and London, 
though there were no other concurrent signs, yet this 



262 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



one, viz., the Lord's removing so fast his people by- 
death, betokens the succession of a black and gloomy 
day. Oh surely the plucking up the stakes doth 
plainly foretell the hedge will not stand long. How 
did God threaten Israel when He took away Jero- 
boam's towardly son, who was the only one in that 
house in whom was found some good thing towards 
the Lord God of Israel ! ' The Lord,' saith the pro- 
phet Ahijah, ' shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken 
in the water, and He shall root up Israel out of this 
good land which he gave to their fathers, and shall 
scatter them beyond the river, because they have made 
their groves, provoking the Lord to anger.' Observe 
the connection of these two prophecies, when he had 
assured the wife of Jeroboam that her good son should 
die ; then he shows what should also be the event of 
it, viz., the desolation and captivity of all Israel. It 
is as sad, yet as true a connection also, which you 
have in Mai. iii. 17, compared with chapter iv. 1. 
In the 17th verse of the third chapter, the Lord 
speaks of making up his jewels, and in chapter 
iv. 1, you have this doleful threatening prophecy, 
■ Behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven ; 
and all the proud, yea, all that do wickedly, shall be 
stubble : and the day that cometh shall burn them up, 
saith the Lord of hosts, it shall leave them neither 
root nor branch.' This connection will be as true in 



APPENDIX. 



263 



the execution as it is here in the threatening. If this, 
then, be so, let us all seriously lay it to heart, and be 
not of this senseless, stupid number spoken of in the 
text, who did not at all consider so weighty and im- 
portant a providence as this is. When saints are 
taken away, a nation or city's wealth and strength, 
and whatsoever else is conducible to their preserva- 
tion, are removed with them ; for the truth is, these 
only are your true and real friends upon whom you 
may depend, and while you enjoy them you may 
expect good, but their removal preaches evil and 
destruction. When one desired to see Alexander's 
treasure, he commanded his servants to show them 
his many faithful friends that were about him, esteem- 
ing them all the wealth and riches he had. Such a 
mercy are the little remnant of God's faithful ones to 
England : all else are but briers and thorns. There- 
fore, if the Lord begins to destroy the foundations 
and to pull down the pillars, let us take it seriously 
into consideration, and go to God in faith and prayer 
that what we have just cause to fear may be the issue, 
the Lord may graciously prevent. The Church, under 
the influence of such a dispensation as this, resolves 
saying, ' I will look unto the Lord, I will wait for the 
God of my salvation.' And David, upon the same 
consideration, cries out, ' Help, Lord.' O that God 
would lay our hearts low before Him in this day of 



264 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



great rebuke, that we may own our guilt and mourn 
over our several abominations, and through the grace 
of God not see those sad consequences which the 
dying of so many good men doth portend." 



AN ELEGY 



ON THE DEATH OF THAT EMINENT MINISTER OF THE 
GOSPEL, 



HAT, still more breaches ! Is Cokayn dead ? 



Who was so desirous the Gospel should be 
spread : 

Who made it his constant study to promote, 
That he might gain souls that were remote, 
And to build up those that were already call'd, 
That he might finish his ministerial work to all ; 
Whose heart was still engaged in pastoral care, 
That he still the flock of Christ might feed here, 
In which the Lord had made him overseer : 



MR. GEORGE COKAYN, 



WHO EXCHANGED THIS MORTAL FOR AN IMMORTAL LIFE, 



NOVEMBER 2 1 ST, 1 69 1. 




2 66 



THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



Studying with great pain upon his bed with care, 
That he might still be brought on Sabbath in his 
chair. 

Praying to God that he might still hold out, 

Till he had by his providence found out 

One that Jehovah hath promised to send in need, 

His people with knowledge and understanding feed. 

The Lord was pleased to grant him his desire, 

That all his Church in one mind was entire 

In fixing their eye whom Providence found out in all, 

They fixed on Nesbitt, and give him a gospel-call, 

Which hath proved himself a gospel-preacher to all — ■ 

A workman that needs not be ashamed to none, 

Preaching forth free grace in Christ to all that come, 

Following him who was his patron, but now is high 

Above the reach of all his enemy. 

Whereby his soul doth reap the fruit of all, 

While we are still labouring in sin's thrall, 

In bondage where Satan would destroy us all, 

The very elect if possibly he might, 

But Christ has pray'd that He might give them sight, 

Whereby He hath rescued them out of Satan's gin, 



APPENDIX. 



267 



Wherein they were caught by Adam's sin ; 
But by free grace they were reprieved, 
And by the imputed righteousness of Christ relieved. 
And by the like precious faith was found, 
Which was by our dear pastor found, 
That, through the knowledge of God and of Jesus 
Christ, 

Grace and peace should be multiplied to the highest, 
To all those that were looking high, 
For the light of his countenance to keep them by ; 
And that it is a contrary strain in those 
Who are crying for any worldly good to oppose, 
Cokayn, he would divide the word aright ; 
Preaching the gospel with all his might, 
And that Christ would come as a thief in night 
To those that are found his enemies in despite ; 
They would be found naked, and their shame 
appear, 

When conscience will be awaken'd with greater fear ; 
Still he was harping on that strain 
That sinners might be brought to God by Christ 
again. 



268 THE STORY OF HARECOURT. 



He was always mindful of the church's poor, 
And not unmindful to others in distresses more : 
Constantly he was mindful of church-order there, 
According to what the Scriptures made appear ; 
And not to keep that in his own power alone, 
Which does belong to more than one, 
Which does rely in the whole Church, that those 
Which are enemies to gospel-order might be oppos'd, 
And that all might agree, as members not dead, 
Of that mystical body, whom Christ is the only Head. 
It is to be lamented in elegy this day, 
That there be so many of those that haste away. 
The Lord grant those that stay behind 
Do mind their duty, as in the Word they find 
Power in heaven and earth was given to Christ 
alone, 

That all the Father had given to Him might be brought 
home — 

We are but strangers and pilgrims here, 
Where no continuing city does appear ; 
But we must seek for one that is to come ; 
And that it might be our constant care 



APPENDIX. 



269 



To walk amongst the tombs while we are here, 
That death might not be a surprise to none ; 
That we might be hastening to our home, 
Endeavouring to mortify the deeds of the body while 
here ; 

That sin, which is the sting of death, might not 
appear ; 

That by free grace in Christ alone, I tell : 

By faith, you may walk through the valley 

Of the shadow of death and fear no ill. 

When this mortal shall put on immortality, 

We shall be blest to all eternity, 

And enjoy the region which is above, 

Where blessed souls are still in love, 

Where there is no strife nor envy found at all, 

But all with one accord ever agree shall, 

Singing the praises of God with hallelujah ; 

But you to stay behind in this lower region still : 

Be not dejected, it is our Heavenly Fathers will; 

Who knows best what his churches need, 

Who hath and will send pastors them to feed — 

According to his promise abideth faithful still, 



270 



THE STORY OF HARE COURT. 



Tho' our poor staggering faith is apt to reel. 
He is the same yesterday, to-day, for ever, 
To frustrate all those that do endeavour 
To oppose his church which shall abide with Him for 
ever. 

This eminent minister will be interred on Friday, 
the 27th of this instant November, 1691, from Stock- 
ing-Weavers' Hall, in Redcross Street. 



London : Printed and are to be sold by Richard 
Baldwin, near the Oxford Arms Inn, Warwick 
Lane, 1691. 



EDI 
bou 
bati 
par 




CONJECTURAL PEDIGREE OF THE REV. GEORGE COKAYN, B.D. 

SAW BY PAYNE FISHER TO HAVE BEEN DESCENDED FROM THE JUDGE. 



PREPARED BY G. E. ADAMS. ESQ.. COLLEGE OF ARMS. 



Krj.MnNhCoKAVNK.ofAsh. 
bourne, Esq., slain at the 
battle ut Shrewsbury. Ex 
parte Hen. IV. 1404. 



of Rushton, in Northampton, 



Sir John Cokaym, of I'.urv-II.tiK v, =p In v, d. of Rci- 
— nald, Lord Grey 
do Ruthin (1354 
to 1388. Married 
1405. Died 1 June, 



]!cds..ifleru.irdscalledCockayi 
Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 1 40 1 ; 
Justice of Court of Common I'lcas, 1405. 
"Died 22 .May, 1429. 



Of CoL'k-^ Bi.AI K1X WALLl.YS. 



Viscounts Cullcn. 



> Cokayne, of Cockayne- =■= ] 
Died 1515. 



of Cockayne- =t= Elizabeth BoYViLLt:. 
Tune, 1490. 



Hl'MI-MKtV COKAYXI , 

Cockayne - Hatley. Dit 
williMUt male issue, 6 He 



iarine Savage. 



"|" Copic ,' 1 



ol Sii Xu.1m1.i- Luke, 



linmiF.CuK.MSK, of Cotton End, t= Ann, sister of 
111 (lie parish o! Cirdincton, Beds, ; Sir Win. l'lomer, 
thud »nn. Living 1590—1599. : ofRadwdl, High 
These children o! (Ic.uljc Col;-: I .trill of lied- 
ayne b.ipt. at Cople, viz.,— ; ,6io. 

Walter . 1590 Edward . 1595: 



1 69 I ; proved 



= Thomas Lltnam, cit 

■fi/n .imi li.ilnril.i-litr, ■ 
London. Living io« 



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